Inuyasha Emotions in Time
by writingISmyART
Summary: All right then. It's been three year since Kagome met Inuyasha and two years since the fall of Naraku.
1. Part One

**Inuyasha FanFiction  
_Emotions In Time - Part One:_**

----------

Inuyasha and his friends - Kagome, Shippo, Miroku, Sango and Kirara - made their way through the great green forest. It was still early and the grass was soft and wet under Inuyasha's feet.

He watched Kagome, flitting from one bush to another, picking off random plants and placing them in a small basket. She seemed overly excited today and was making Inuyasha edgy. He watched her every move, ready for anything that might happen.

"Kagome?" Miroku called, "What is making you so happy today?"

Sango narrowed her eyes at him, "Does it really matter? Can't she just be happy to be happy?"

Kagome smiled at Sango, "It's okay, I'm just happy because today is the Anniversary."

"What Anniversary?" Inuyasha moved closer to Kagome for no apparent reason.

Kagome's smile remained, even though she was a little disappointed by his question, "Three years ago today, I found you pinned to that Sacred Tree."

Inuyasha relaxed slightly and smiled, "I see. Its the Anniversary of the day we met."

Kagome nodded, "Yep, and I intend to celebrate it."

Inuyasha watched as Kagome ran off ahead. Sango and Miroku walked up behind him. Shippo jumped on his shoulder.

"You should get her something," he told Inuyasha.

Inuyasha was puzzled. "What do you mean?" he asked.

"It's obvious she's making a big deal out of this. What if she got you a gift, and you didn't get her one?" Shippo challenged.

_ Uh-oh, _ Inuyasha thought to himself.

He turned to Miroku and Sango. "Well? What should I do?" he asked, "I've never gotten anyone a gift before."

Sango sighed, "Miroku? Go with Kagome to the river up ahead. Inuyasha and I will join you later."

Miroku nodded, "Shippo? Why don't you come with me... Kirara? Go with Sango."

"All right," Sango started walking away, "Let's go."

---

"Come _ on _ Lord Sesshomaru!"

Sesshomaru smiled at Rin. The little orphan human was running ahead of him, dragging along an exhausted Jaken.

"I'm coming Rin," he assured her, "Your uncontrollable hastiness is going to be your downfall someday."

Rin understood what he meant; he always spoke with a large vocabulary, but was so willing to explain new words that Rin was perfectly comfortable talking to him nowadays.

Rin stopped running, (much to Jaken's relief), and spun to face Lord Sesshomaru, "If you don't hurry, we're going to miss it!"

Sesshomaru looked ahead of Rin, down the pat that led out of the forest. The light was beginning to seep through the leaves of the trees and sparkled on the early morning dew.

Rin thought that the dew made everything beautiful. Sesshomaru had different opinions, but kept them to himself so that he didn't hurt the little girl's feelings. The three of them were on their way to see a waterfall nearby that takes the light from the morning sunrise, and reflects it off the Adamant Crystals, (diamonds), that lay at the bottom of the water.

Rin had seen it yesterday, and was determined to share the sight with Sesshomaru.

It had been a long time - almost three years - since Rin had entered Sesshomaru's life. At first she had been nothing more than a tag along; merely a child who followed her savior blindly. As of late, however, Rin and Sesshomaru had formed somewhat of a bond.

Sesshomaru's guess was that the little amount of emotion that had caused his father to fall in love with a mortal, like Inuyasha's mother, must have transferred down to him, and now he actually enjoyed having Rin around.

She was like a little sister... no ... she was a bit more than that ... she was like a daughter.

Sesshomaru stepped out of the last of the trees and looked around. Rin was right about one thing, rainbows danced across every surface they touched. Including Rin's eyes when she looked up at Sesshomaru, "See Sesshomaru? Isn't it beautiful?"

_ Glittering lights, _ Sesshomaru thought, _ unimpressive. _

But looking down into Rin's eyes, Sesshomaru could not bring himself to say anything that may hurt the little girl.

He lowered himself to one knee. "Yes Rin," he agreed, "beautiful."

Without warning, Rin threw herself at Sesshomaru gathering his arm and some of his tail in a hug.

Sesshomaru sighed and looked up at the sky. _ Father? What have you done to me? _

---

"Okay, let's get started," Sango dragged Inuyasha through the many rows of carts and booths.

Inuyasha pulled away; finally making sense of the situation, "You're kidding right? You want _ me _ to go _ shopping? _"

"For Kagome," Sango pointed out.

"That's it, I'm leaving," Inuyasha started to walk back the way they had entered the village, but was intercepted when Sango stepped in front of him.

"Look, Inuyasha," Sango explained, "we're not actually shopping. A gift has to come from the heart, so we're just looking around for some idea of something you could make."

Inuyasha sighed in defeat. He needed to get Kagome something nice, and Sango was the perfect person to get help from.

For over an hour, Sango took Inuyasha to almost every cart that offered little trinkets and such. Inuyasha began to tire of all the running around and being excited over useless stuff, when he stumbled upon a woman selling wooden-carving necklaces.

"Sango!" Inuyasha called, "I know what to do! Meet you back at the river bank in a little bit!"

With that, he lept from the village and into the forest.

---

Kagome sighed and laid down on the, now dry, grass. It was soft and warm from the glow of the afternoon sun.

Everything was in place next to her. A nice picnic blanket with food, (Ramen; Inuyasha's favorite), and drinks was spread out next to the Rainbow Waterfall facing the direction where the sun would set; right behind it. Kagome was waiting for Inuyasha to come back so they could enjoy the special day together. But she wasn't unhappy with his tardiness, the sensational fragrance of the herbs she spread around the blanket were making every muscle in her body, as well as her mind, relax.

A shuffling came from the bushes next to Kagome. She sat up and looked, but did not go for her bow and arrows because she didn't sense a threat.

"Inuyasha?" she asked, leering her head towards the bushes, "Are you there?"

Suddenly, a girl fell out of the bushes and onto her back.

"Hi!" Rin smiled up at Kagome, who now stood towering over her.

"Rin?" Kagome asked, surprised.

Rin swung herself up from the ground, "Hello, Kagome."

Rin peered at the picnic behind Kagome and sighed. Lord Sesshomaru had given her permission to leave wit Jaken to look for food, and the picnic had caught Rin's attention. By following the smell of Kagome's delicious food, Rin had lost Jaken. Now that Rin saw the food belonged to someone, she was disappointed, and even hungrier than before.

But Kagome understood this and offered Rin some food. She could always make more for Inuyasha later.

"Thank you," Rin accepted with a bow, "I am very hungry."

"Well, come on then," Kagome took Rin's hand and led her over to the blanket, "Let's get some food into you."

---

"Jaken!" Sesshomaru yelled at the little green servant who struggled to keep up with him, "How could you be so irresponsible?!"

"Lord Sesshomaru..." Jaken pleaded.

"I can't believe you lost her _ again! _" he continued to vent his frustration with Jaken.

"My Lord," Jaken began again, "If I may be so bold as to ask; Why do you care so much about the little orphan?"

"No you may not be so bold!" Sesshomaru snapped back.

_ Why do I care? _ Sesshomaru wondered, _ Stupid, irrational, human-like emotions. They'll kill me someday. _

Usually, Rin's disappearances were not such a big deal, but Sesshomaru was overly nervous because finding her was proving much more difficult today.

Whenever Rin would disappear, Sesshomaru could easily sniff out her scent and find her, but today wasn't the same. Inuyasha's scent, (and the scent of his human companions), covered every inch of the forest. There were claw marks in the bark of most of the trees around Sesshomaru, as if Inuyasha had been testing the trees for something.

Inuyasha's presence just made Sesshomaru want to find Rin faster. Sesshomaru would never tell anyone, but he did not want his little brother near Rin. If Inuyasha were to spend time with Rin, he might think that Rin was a weakness to be used against him.

_ No, _ Sesshomaru thought, _ Inuyasha wouldn't. But he won't kill me if he knows I am Rin's only ... family. And where's the fun of defeating Inuyasha if he won't fight back? _

Sesshomaru quickened his pace.

---

"So, Rin?" Kagome waited for the young girls attention before she continued, "How have you been since we last saw each other?"

Rin ate another mouthful of her second bowl of Ramen before answering, "Not much has happened. The defeation of Naraku has life rather boring now."

Kagome giggled, "Well, I'm not complaining. Naraku's being gone is a load off my shoulders."

Rin eyed Kagome curiously, her thoughts were way back in the past, when the final showdown had occurred.

_ Kagome looks different now, _ Rin thought.

Kagome noticed she was being observed. "What's wrong?" she asked Rin.

Rin shrugged and ate another mouthful of Ramen. No sense in making the conversation awkward.

Interestingly enough, Kagome was thinking the same thing about Rin.

Rin had grown somewhat, though she still retained her childhood innocence. Her hair was longer, that was for sure. She was the tiniest bit taller, but still remained as slender as she had been the last time.

Kagome was not able to focus on anything else though, because in the next instant Jaken came tripping out of the bushes.

"Rin!" he was overjoyed to see her, (more for his sake then for hers, however), as he scrambled to his feet, "Rin! You almost had me beheaded!"

"Silence Jaken," said a voice behind him.

Sesshomaru stepped out of the forest. His first sight was Rin, then a quick glance to Kagome, then back to Rin again.

"Sesshomaru..." Kagome whispered.

----------

**_End Part One  
_**

**_To Be Continued..._**


	2. Part Two

**Inuyasha FanFiction  
_Emotions In Time - Part 2:_  
**

----------

Kagome stared at Sesshomaru for a long moment, unlike Rin, he hadn't changed one bit.

But Sesshomaru wasn't paying attention to Kagome, his eyes were focused on Rin. Relief flushed through him, but he kept his voice monotone as he spoke to Rin.

"Rin?" he called her attention, "Are you okay? You mustn't run off like this."

Kagome was slightly astonished. Even though his voice was emotionless she could sense that he had been extremely worried about Rin. A smiled twitched at the ends of Kagome's mouth.

Rin set down her bowl and ran over to Lord Sesshomaru. "I'm sorry I caused you to be anxious," she apologized with a bow.

Sesshomaru couldn't help but smile as he crouched down to her eye level. "It's okay," he told her, "But next time, I want you to stay with Jaken."

Rin nodded.

Sesshomaru straightened up to speak to Kagome, "I would very much appreciate it if this gathering were kept from Inuyasha's knowledge."

"Oh, um," Kagome choked on the right words to say, "Well, okay ... I guess I don't have to tell him." _ But he'll probably figure it out anyway ... _ she added in her head.

Sesshomaru nodded in thanks, the turned to walk back into the forest. "Come along Rin," he called over his shoulder.

Rin ran back to Kagome and hugged her before running off to follow Lord Sesshomaru.

When the two, (and Jaken), had completely disappeared into the forest, Kagome set about making more Ramen for Inuyasha. The sun was setting, and she was begining to worry about Inuyasha.

---

Inuyasha's ears were almost flat against his head as he followed Miroku and Shippo's scents back to their camp for the night. He was traveling at a blindingly fast pace in order to get back to Kagome before the sun finished setting.

Suddenly a new, but distinctly familiar, scent became known. It was the scent of Sesshomaru, Inuyasha was sure. He ignored it at first, but as Inuyasha got closer to Shippo and Miroku, Sesshomaru's scent got stronger.

_ He didn't attack them did he? _ Inuyasha's worried thoughts wiggled their way into his mind and caused him to run faster, then push himself even faster when he thought of Sesshomaru attacking Kagome.

Upon reaching Miroku, Sango, Shippo and Kirara in one of the less dense parts of the forest, Inuyasha was moving so fast he had to crash into a tree in order to stop, (the tree then split in half and fell to the ground).

"I'm fine, I'm fine," Inuyasha assured them when he saw their worried glances. He waited for his vision to clear and his head to stop throbbing before he asked where Kagome was.

Sango smiled, "She's waiting for you down at the riverbank. What did you make her?"

Inuyasha straightened himself and started to walk out of the forest as he called over his shoulder, "That is for me to know, and you to find out."

Miroku took a step forward, but Inuyasha whirled around to face him and the others, glaring. "No spying!!" he snapped.

As soon as Inuyasha was out of sight, Sango turned to Miroku, "We're still going to spy on them, right?"

Miroku laughed, "Of course."

"I HEARD THAT!!!" Inuyasha shouted back into the forest.

Shippo groaned, "Aw, man."

Inuyasha turned away from the forest he had just shouted at and was immediately overcome by his acute sense of smell.

There were so many different smells. Kagome's; Sesshomaru's; Jaken's; some very fragrant plants around Kagome, and another scent that seemed extremely familiar, but Inuyasha couldn't place it.

Inuyasha tried to ignore the scents and go sit by Kagome. When he did, (because of all the fragrant plants, no doubt), all the other scents were masked. There was just Kagome's.

"Um... Kagome?" Inuyasha asked while his eyes did a scan of the surrounding area, "Was Sesshomaru here?"

Kagome was stuck. She knew if she tried to lie to Inuyasha, he would catch her. But telling the truth wasn't such a great idea either. She took a deep breath and tried to half-lie confidently, "No, but Rin was."

_ Rin! _ Inuyasha's thoughts gathered themselves, _ That was the familiar scent! And then, of course, she was carrying Sesshomaru's scent! _

Kagome offered him a bowl of Ramen, and he took it, thanking her. Instead of stuffing it all down his throat like he normally did, though, he ate slowly; the same pace as Kagome.

"So... What was she up to?" Inuyasha asked before taking another bite.

Kagome took a sip of water from her water bottle, then answered, "She was hungry."

Inuyasha snickered in the back of his throat, "Doesn't Sesshomaru know he has to take care of his pets?"

Kagome didn't laugh, "I don't think Rin is his pet."

Inuyasha raised an eyebrow, "What else would she be?"

Kagome shrugged and dropped the subject, only to started up again from a new direction, a moment later.

"Inuyasha?" her voice was quiet, "I have a question about half-demons."

Inyasha put his bowl down and waited for her to continue.

"If a mortal and a demon have a child, does it automatically have to be a half-demon?" she asked.

Inuyasha thought for a moment before answering, "I suppose not. I mean, technically, I'm a full demon. Or, at least, I could be if the Tetsusaiga didn't suppress the demon in me. So, I guess--"

"I meant, if a mortal and a demon had a child, could it possibly be mortal?" she interrupted.

Inuyasha nodded, "I would say it could. But its not like anyone's every done a study on this kind of thing." He paused for a minute, "Where is this all coming from anyway?"

Kagome shrugged again, "I was just thinking about Rin."

Inuyasha's eyes bugged out of his head, and he had to gasp a couple times before he could speak, "You actually think Rin is Sesshomaru's _ child?!? _"

Kagome looked at Inuyasha's disgusted expression and acted defensively, "You just said it was possible."

"Not when it comes to Sesshomaru, Kagome!" he spoke in disbelief, "If there's anything I know about him, its that he would rather have _ me _ slice his head off with the Tetsusaiga and burn his body, than ever have a child with a mortal."

"Quit being a Drama King," Kagome accused, "He's not like that anymore."

Inuyasha was about to ask how the hell she would know that, but she spoke first.

"Its almost time," she said looking at the setting sun.

Inuyasha was confused, "Almost time for what?"

Kagome looked straight into his eyes, obviously looking to see if there was any form of joking in them; there wasn't. "Inuyasha..." she was the one in disbelief now, "Don't you remember what night it is? It's the night of the New Moon."

Inuyasha's muscles locked together. With all the craziness, he really _ had _ forgotten it was the night of the New Moon. The night when he would lose his half-demon powers. He stifled a growl in the back of his throat.

"You know," Kagome said quietly to the ground, "Our Anniversary is actually in two days, but I wanted to celebrate it tonight."

Inuyasha choked on a little Ramen he was swallowing, "W-What? Why?"

Kagome giggled, "I don't know, really."

Inuyasha's mouth twisted into a scowl, then relaxed back into a smile as he said, "You know what? I think you like me better as a mortal!"

"What?! No. I mean, no. That's ridiculous," she stumbled over the words, blushing.

The last of the sun fell beneath the horizon.

Inuyasha ran his fingers through his, now midnight black, hair. It felt different than his dog hair; not a bad different, exactly, just different. Kagome gasped, no matter how many times she witnessed it, Inuyasha's transformation into a mortal always seemed... unreal.

Inuyasha looked at her with a confused expression. "What?" he asked simply.

A whole new wave of hot pink blushed on Kagome's face as she turned away and whispered, "Nothing..."

Sensing that she was embarrassed, he tried to flip the topic back to Sesshomaru, "Rin doesn't look anything like him, though."

Kagome caught on to what Inuyasha was doing right away, but her answer was somewhat hesitant, "So? If... If she was fully human, wouldn't she... look like her mother?"

"Hmph. She looks more like you to me," Inuyasha said through his last mouthful of Ramen.

"Mmm..." Kagome murmured, deep in thought.

Inuyasha raised an eyebrow at her, "What?"

As if being snapped out of a dream, Kagome snapped to Inuyasha's attention. "Sorry," she said suddenly, "I was just thinking..."

"I noticed."

Kagome ignored Inuyasha's remark, still mumbling to herself, "She's obviously important to him...maybe..."

Inuyasha rolled his eyes, "_WHAT_ Kagome?"

Kagome shook her head, "Its kind of... gross."

"Spit it out, Kagome."

Kagome sighed, "Demons are immortal. They never age. Humans age. Perhaps, when Rin gets older... she and Sesshomaru..."

Inuyasha went cross-eyed and his skin turned a faint green color.

Kagome noticed this and immediately began defending herself once again, "See! I told you! But no, you just _ had _ to know!"

Inuyasha flung his hands up to cover his eyes for no apparent reason, "Stop. _ Stop. _ STOP!" He shuttered, "Ugh! She's like, 11! I really didn't need to know about any of Sesshomaru's future plans for her!"

"It was just a guess!" Kagome snapped.

"A damn good one!" Inuyasha retaliated.

Kagome went pale.

----------

**_End Part Two_**

**_To Be Continued...  
_**


	3. Part Three

**Inuyasha FanFiction  
_Emotions In Time - Part 3:_  
**

----------

Rin shivered.

The night was drastically colder than it had been before. Fall was settling in, bringing an icy chill of Winter, waiting to pounce.

Rin looked at the ashes where the fire had been. It wasn't even smoking anymore; all the heat was gone. She wondered if perhaps she could rebuild the fire again, but tonight was the night of the New Moon. Wandering off into the darkness, to look for firewood, was probably not the best idea. It didn't matter though, she was too cold to move.

Cold nipped at her toes, and she curled them up into her small Kimono, shuddering violently.

Suddenly, Rin was lifted from the cold, hard ground and wrapped up in soft fur.

Lord Sesshomaru held a freezing Rin in his arm. Holding her closely, he waited while her shuddering to turn to shivering, then the shivering subsided and she fell asleep.

_ Humans... _ he thought, rolling his eyes, _ So helpless... _

Sesshomaru returned to the base of the tree he had been sleeping against - still carrying Rin - and sat back down.

Sesshomaru looked up at Jaken, sprawled out next to AuUn. He would be fine through the night; Demons were different than humans, they didn't get cold easily.

Sighing, Sesshomaru leaned his head back against the tree and stared up at the ink-black sky.

Rin hated the night of the New Moon, he knew that. Only a couple hours ago, in the glow of the firelight, Sesshomaru had watched her stick her tongue out out at the sky.

_ 'Stupid sky,' she had mumbled unhappily._

_Jaken had looked up at the sky, then looked back at Rin. 'What ails you, child?' he asked._

_'The moon is gone!' she had explained, 'I wish the moon didn't have to go!'_

_Jaken smiled at Rin, 'Yes, but when the moon comes back, it will shine even brighter...'_

_Rin pondered that for a moment before she had turned to Sesshomaru and asked, 'What do you think, My Lord?'_

_Sesshomaru had replied, 'Jaken is very wise...' knowing it would make both Rin and Jaken happy._

_It had worked; Rin smiled. _

After the memory had played out in his head, Lord Sesshomaru closed his eyes. He would probably never look at the stars the same way again.

Rin shivered and snuggled deeper into Sesshomaru's fur.

_ What have I done? _ he questioned himself, _ Was it really only three years ago that I was chastising Inuyasha about caring for a human? _

He shook his head slowly, everything her had once stood for had now disappated. He was no longer as cold-hearted as he had once been. Rin was important to him; he loved her. Even though it ripped at the very essence of his being - _ his soul, perhaps? _ - he couldn't deny that Rin was a daughter to him.

Rin was his weakness...his only weakness...

Not that it mattered, with Naraku gone, Sesshomaru did not have any enemies that could use Rin against him. Any lesser Demons that he had crossed paths with had been destroyed before they could finish their starting monologue:

_ I am Bishamon the water Demon - _ SHINK!

_ Beware the wrath of - _ KASHANK!

_ You cannot defeat me for I am - _ WHIPP!

Dead. Dead. Dead. You don't move? You're dead.

Sesshomaru grinned. It used to be that way with humans, too. Not anymore though; now that Rin was with him, he didn't kill humans without reason. Come to think of it, he hadn't killed anything in a while. Then again there wasn't much to kill nowadays. A few stray Demons, every now and again, but with the Sacred Jewel guarded by Inuyasha and Kagome, there wasn't anyone coming after _ him. _

A new thought crossed Sesshomaru's mind. For many months now, Sesshomaru, Rin, Jaken and AuUn had wandered the lands, not going anywhere.

_ A journey without a destination... _

Sesshomaru opened his eyes once more and looked down at Rin's sleeping form. Rin needed a stable life; not one traveling the world. She needed a bed she could sleep in every night, in a room that was all hers.

Rin would not go by herself though. Sesshomaru would have to settle down also; live with her and Jaken. Perhaps they could have servants and such. It might be...nice.

Sesshomaru sighed and closed his eyes for the last time that night, drifting into sleep.

---

(The Next Day)

---

Inuyasha sighed.

He and Kagome had been sitting on the front steps of the, newly rebuilt, shrine for most of the day, and he was bored.

"That's it!" Kagome shouted, jumping to her feet, "I can't take it anymore!"

She marched into the shrine, mumbling angrily, then returned a moment later fumbling with the back of her neck.

Inuyasha lept up, "What are you _ doing? _" he yelled when he saw the Sacred Jewel around her neck.

"I'm leaving," she said quite matter-of-factly.

Inuyasha sat back down on the steps and watched Kagome walk away. When she had gotten at least 20 feet away from the shrine, Kagome turned around to see that Inuyasha was not following.

"Aren't you coming?" she called.

Inuyasha raised an eyebrow at her, "Uh... No."

Kagome frowned. She really didn't want to do this...

Swiftly, before Inuyasha could see what she was going to do, Kagome brought her fingers up to her mouth and whistled a long, clear whistle.

Before he could stop himself, Inuyasha bounded after Kagome.

A half an hour later, Kagome was laying on her back in a pool of water at the base of a waterfall.

It was a tiny waterfall - nothing like the Rainbow Waterfall, where Inuyasha and Kagome had celebrated their Anniversary yesterday - but wonderfully clean and refreshing.

Kagome stood up, the surface of the water touched her chin, and called to Inuyasha, "Aren't you coming in?"

Inuyasha was sitting on a rock, his legs and arms folded. Though he wouldn't admit it, he was getting hot, and did want to go in. The nights might be getting colder, but the days were still hot as hell.

He shook his head, "No."

"This isn't about the suit is it?" she asked, putting her hands on her hips.

"No, it's not."

"Then come in!" Kagome barked at him.

Inuyasha rolled his eyes and stood up, his arms still folded, "Fine, I will. Just... quit whining!"

Kagome watched as Inuyasha eyed the water suspiciously. She had to admit, he looked very attractive in his red and black swim trunks from her era. His muscular chest proudly defined, and his strong arms flexed twice as he tensed to jump in.

Not even a moment passed before Inuyasha jumped in.

Inuyasha came back out of the water near Kagome and spat a mouthful of water at her face, laughing.

"Ew-" she said, rinsing her face off in the water, "-dog slobber!"

Inuyasha shook his head to get the water out of his ears.

Kagome glared at him, "Sit boy!"

"GAAAHHH-----***" Inuyasha cried as he was dragged under the water.

At the bottom, Inuyasha grabbed Kagome's left ankle and pulled it out from under her. The rest of her body went under.

She scrambled to the surface and splashed Inuyasha. Most of the water went into his mouth because he had been laughing. After coughing the water up, he splashed Kagome back.

"You are such a _ child! _" Kagome laughed, splashing him again.

"You're one to talk!" he replied, dunking her under.

"S-IT...BoY!" she sputtered as she went under.

Suddenly, a net came down on top of Kagome, just missing Inuyasha - who was still under the water. As the net was being hoisted out of the water, Inuyasha emerged from the surface of the water.

Before he got a chance to attack, however, Kagome used the power of the Sacred Jewel to create a barrier between her and the net. Then, she enlarged the barrier until the net was stretched to the limit and snapped.

After the net snapped, Kagome lost her concentration and fell.

Inuyasha lept up to catch Kagome, but was caught in another net, that came out of nowhere, and was slammed to the ground. He easily ripped through the net, but Kagome had already gone under.

"Kagome!" he shouted, diving into the water. Then came back up again, "Kagome!"

Inuyasha sprang out of the water and onto a boulder, protruding from the water. "KAGOME!" he cried.

"Inu-ya-sha..." a whisper answered.

Inuyasha's ears twitched and he turned to look downstream, in the direction of the voice.

"KAGOME!" he called again.

Nothing...

...and then something.

On the left side of the riverbank, Inuyasha saw a lock of dark hair coming up from under the water.

"Kagome!" he cried leaping to the spot.

Carefully, Inuyasha pulled Kagome off the rocks the current was pressing her against, and laid her on the bank.

"Kagome..." Inuyasha called.

When Kagome gave no response, Inuyasha pressed his finger against her neck to check her pulse, exactly how Kagome had once shown him.

Her pulse was strong and steady, since she hadn't been under very long, but she wasn't breathing.

Inuyasha knew what to do, Kagome had shown him sometime last year.

_ If the victim is not breathing, but has a pulse, CPR is not necessary. But you have to get the water out of the victim's throat before the pulse slows... _

He took a deep breath and brought his mouth down on Kagome's, breathing out into her mouth. Then turned his head to the side to watch for any rising or falling chest movement.

Nothing.

"Damnit," he cursed before repeating his actions.

Again, nothing.

Inuyasha checked her pulse again, it was slowing down.

"No, no, no!" he panicked, "Don't you _ dare _ Kagome! Don't you _ dare _ give up on me!"

Again, Inuyasha tried to get Kagome breathing again.

Kagome suddenly came to life, spiting up the water in her mouth. Inuyasha sat back, relieved.

When at last her coughing subsided, Kagome turned to stare at Inuyasha.

"Ew... dog slobber."

---

"Lord Sesshomaru? Where are we going?" Rin's perky voice came from on top of AuUn.

Lord Sesshomaru continued to walk along the dirt road, forgotten to humans. "To my old home," he answered over his shoulder.

Feeling slightly antsy, Rin swung her legs back and forth before asking another question, "What do you mean, My Lord?"

Next to AuUn, Jaken sighed. Rin's never ending stream of questions always made his head hurt. Sesshomaru and Rin didn't notice Jaken's irritation.

"Long ago, my mother and I lived with my father in the village we are traveling to," Sesshomaru explained, "I left many years ago, when I was old enough to travel alone."

_I am such a liar, _he thought, _Good thing Mother doesn't live there anymore._

"Lord Sesshomaru? Do you remember your mother? Was she a dog, too?" Rin's question's continued.

Sesshomaru sighed, "Not much Rin... not much." _Lie. _"And, yes, she was a dog." _Is a dog._

Rin slipped her feet beneath her, propping herself up on her knees to peer over AuUn's head at her Lord, "Was she pretty?"

"According to my Father, she was," Sesshomaru answered.

_Another lie, seeing as the bitch is still alive._

"Well, Lord Sesshomaru, that explains why you're so beautiful," blurted Rin - who hardly ever thought anything she didn't say first.

Sesshomaru blushed.

_ What on Earth? _ he thought, _ Embarrassment? A human emotion? _

"Thank you... Rin," he said, swallowing the lump in his throat.

"You're welcome!"

Just then, the group reached the top of a hill and looked down.

At the bottom of the hill, in a vast valley, there was an enormous castle ground in a large, village-type, surrounding.

The building in the very center, (the castle), of the valley was the largest and most elaborate building with a porch that stretched around each side. A fence that separated the castle, (and the castle's large yard), showed detailed pictures of a colossal Dog Demon battling and defeating countless enemies.

Rin looked around at the smaller homes that surrounded the castle fence, "Which one is your house, My Lord?"

Sesshomaru smirked, "The one in the middle."

"Now way!" Rin cried in disbelief, "Really?!"

Sesshomaru nodded, "Really."

Sesshomaru walked among the other houses with his head held high, and Rin holding his hand. Jaken was on AuUn now, following silently.

Demons of every shape, size, and color stopped midway through what they were doing to stare at Sesshomaru and his company. Rin noticed that some of the Demons resembled animals.

A Praying Mantis was hanging some clothing on a line. Holding, what looked like, a bed sheet in her hand, her gaze was frozen on Sesshomaru. Some kind of Tiger was in the middle of using chopsticks to bring a piece of food to his mouth. The sight of food made Rin's stomach growl slightly.

Many Demons, however, did not look like animals... or even anything for that matter. These ones frightened Rin, but she didn't show it.

At last, the group reached the fence gates. They were the height of 14, eleven-year-old, Rin's...(that's over 56 feet)...and just as wide. Rin craned her head all the way back in order to see the top of the massive gates.

"Wow..." she breathed, "Every thing's so big!"

"My father was big..." Sesshomaru explained.

Rin nodded as Lord Sesshomaru pushed the massive door open with ease.

Inside the castle fence was completely different than outside the castle fence. Inside, Demons scurried everywhere, sweeping dusting, washing, planting - just cleaning everything in general. Rin watched with anxious eyes as Sesshomaru led them through the yard, towards the castle.

Out of nowhere, a small russet colored fox Demon appeared before them. "Why, Lord Sesshomaru, what a long time its been!" he bowed in greeting, "None the less...welcome back ... and _ who _ is _ this?_" The small Demon looked at Rin with a curious eye, until Sesshomaru reclaimed his attention.

"Her name is Rin. Do. Not. Touch. Her." he threatened.

The fox rolled his eyes, "I wouldn't _dream_ of it."

"Kentaro, take AuUn to the back," Sesshomaru ordered, irritated by the fox's comment.

"Yes, My Lord," Kentaro said with another bow.

Jaken hopped off of AuUn as Kentaro took the reins and led her away.

"Lord Sesshomaru? Why did you tell Kentaro not to touch me?" Rin asked when the fox disappeared from sight.

"Make no mistake, Rin," Sesshomaru warned, "Kentaro may have the form of a child-like fox, but he is over 90 years old and has the mind of... an_ adult._"

Rin understood.

Sesshomaru led her through the front doors of the castle, with Jaken following, and into a room of scarlet and gold. Two large chairs were at the back of the room.

"The Throne Room..." Sesshomaru told Rin.

Rin marveled at the chairs, both were large enough to be beds for her, but the one on the left was much larger than the one on the right.

"Lord Sesshomaru? May I?" Rin asked, pointing at the grand Thrones.

Sesshomaru nodded and released Rin's hand. Rin promptly took off to go lay on the bigger Throne.

"My Lord," Jaken spoke for the first time that day, "Why are we here?"

Sesshomaru did not take his eyes off Rin as he answered, "This is my home..."

... _ and soon, it will be hers _ ...

----------

**_End Part Three_**

**_To Be Continued..._**

**_End Part Two_**

**_To Be Continued..._**


	4. Part Four

**Inuyasha FanFiction  
_Emotions In Time - Part 4:_**

----------

"Well, at least whoever attacked us doesn't have the Sacred Jewel," Kagome said as she plucked it from the bottom of the river.

Kagome looked up at Inuyasha when he gave no response, "Right, Inuyasha? Isn't that what's most important?"

Inuyasha turned his back to her, "No... It's not."

Kagome raised an eyebrow in Inuyasha's direction while she refastened the Sacred Jewel around her neck, "What do you mean? Of course it is."

Inuyasha lept off his boulder and landed inches from Kagome, seeping with anger.

"You almost died!" he shouted, "Do you not get that? Do you not hold any value on your _ life? _"

"So what else is new?!" she shouted back, "This is my life now! I protect he Sacred Jewel and keep it pure! As long as I do, my life will always be in danger!"

Inuyasha glared at her, "Don't give me that! I've tried to take the responsibility from you! _ You're _ the one who won't give it up!"

"What would I do then, Inuyasha? I can't go back to my era anymore! Protecting this Jewel is all I can do to keep myself from going insane! Besides -" she continued to rant, "- like I would really give the Sacred Jewel to someone like _you!_"

As soon as the words were out of her mouth, Kagome regretted them.

"I see," Inuyasha said almost as emotionlessly as Sesshomaru would have.

"Inuyasha..." Kagome's voice was small and pleading, "...I didn't...mean that...the way I...said..."

"Whatever," Inuyasha interrupted, "I get it, I know. If I were to use the Sacred Jewel to turn myself into a Demon, I would taint it."

Inuyasha turned away from her and sat on the ground.

"Inuyasha..." Kagome lowered herself to the ground next to him, "...to me, it seems, your life is all about change. Changing to be stronger... Changing the world you live in... Changing into a Demon or a Mortal..." she paused to unclasp the Sacred Jewel from around her neck and hold it in her hand, "Why do you want to change Inuyasha? Never mind, it doesn't matter 'why'."

Kagome took a deep breath, then pulled one of Inuyasha hands over to her and placed the Sacred Jewel in his hand, curling his fingers around it.

"Inuyasha, stop trying to change. The people who really love you, love you just the way you are," and with that, Kagome gave him a kiss on the cheek and left.

Inuyasha stared at the Sacred Jewel in his hand.

_ What do I do? _

_-  
_

Kagome sat on the front steps of the shrine, watching the sun set. The wind was getting colder and she was glad she had put on jeans and a jacket.

_ Where is he? _ she wondered, _ Shouldn't he have been back by now? _

She sighed, she had no idea when he was coming back... _ if _ he was coming back at all. He had once said he would stay half-demon for a while longer for her. Would he still honor that?

Kagome looked up at the sky, becoming darker by the second. When she looked back down, Kagome could see Inuyasha, (now dressed in his red Fire-Rat clothing), coming towards the shrine.

He looked the same. Long silver hair, cute puppy ears, broad shoulders, everything. Dangling from his right hand was the Sacred Jewel on its necklace.

Inuyasha didn't look at Kagome as he entered the shrine and placed the Sacred Jewel on its pedestal, then left the shrine and waited for Kagome at the bottom of the steps.

Kagome ran inside and approached the pedestal like she did every evening. She placed her pointer finger on the Sacred Jewel and threw up a barrier that allowed no one, (Demon or mortal), to come through, except her.

When Kagome saw Inuyasha she couldn't help but run up and hug him around the waist. Inuyasha wrapped his arms around Kagome.

A single tear rolled down Kagome's cheek, "Inuyasha, I'm so glad--"

"Kagome?" Inuyasha interrupted, "I can't make this decision..."

_ ...yet... _

---

"Lord Sesshomaru..."

_"Lord Sesshomaru..."_

The voice of an Angel drifted through Sesshomaru's dreams.

"LoRd SeSsHoMaRu...come on...wake up..."

_ Damn, not an Angel at all. _

Sesshomaru rolled onto his stomach and pressed his face deeper into the pillows. He hadn't had such a good nights sleep in a while and he wanted it back.

"Ha! I knew you were awake! Come on, Lord Sesshomaru..."

Sesshomaru lifted his face out of the pillows slightly. "Go. Away. Rin." he said threateningly

Rin smiled as she stood next to his bed. "Sesshomaru," she tried to say firmly, but couldn't help giggling, "Get out of bed, you're wasting the day!"

Sesshomaru dropped his head back into the pillows. _ It's a day to be wasted, _ he thought.

"Please Lord Sesshomaru..." Rin's sad voice pricked at his ears, "You promised..." She added a sniffle at the end to make Sesshomaru feel even worse.

It worked, and Sesshomaru sat up with a groan. Rin wrapped him up in a hug.

"Rin," he said, looking down at the top of her head, "Go, so I can change out of my sleepwear. I'll meet you in the Dining Hall for breakfast."

"Make haste, My Lord," she said with a wave, before exiting.

Slowly, Sesshomaru rose from his bed and walked over to his closet. There was only one outfit in it, and that suited him just fine.

-

Later on, Rin was swallowing the last of her second Rice Ball when Sesshomaru, sitting across from her, began a conversation.

"I trust you are enjoying yourself, Rin," he said, raising an eyebrow at her.

Rin looked up at him, her cheek puffed out with Sweet and Sour Chicken and Fried Rice. After a large swallow and a cough, Rin answered, "Of course, Lord Sesshomaru."

Sesshomaru smiled, "Good to know."

After swallowing another mouthful of Fried Rice, Rin looked over at Jaken, seated on her left, and frowned.

"Master Jaken, you haven't touched any of your food," she observed out loud.

Jaken looked up from the plate of food he had been staring at. "I'm just not very hungry, I suppose," he told Rin.

Sesshomaru only glanced at Jaken before returning his attention to Rin. "Are you finished, Rin?" he asked, nodding his head at her empty plate.

Rin looked at her empty plate, disappointed. She hadn't noticed she had finished her food so quickly. "Uh, yeah," she answered.

Sesshomaru noticed her glum expression, he had seen it before. She was still hungry.

"Kaemon," Sesshomaru called.

Within seconds, a fox Demon who had been standing near the door was next to Sesshomaru. The Demon had introduced himself earlier that morning as Kaemon, Kentaro's younger brother. However, even though he looked somewhat like his older sibling, Kentaro was a russet brown color, and Kaemon was a sandy blond.

"Yes, My Lord?" he addressed Sesshomaru with a bow.

Sesshomaru leaned down and whispered something, inaudible to Rin, in Kaemon's ear. When Sesshomaru sat back up straight, Kaemon bowed and ran out.

Sesshomaru rose to his feet. "Jaken? I am taking Rin for a tour of the village," he told the Imp, "You are welcome to accompany us if you wish."

Jaken looked up at Lord Sesshomaru with an ill expression, "No, thank you, My lord. I think I'll head back to bed, actually."

After nodding once to Jaken, Sesshomaru turned his gaze back to Rin. "Rin," he called her attention, "Let's go."

Rin hopped up to her feet and followed Sesshomaru out of the Dining Hall.

As Rin and Sesshomaru were walking across the yard to the front gate, Kaemon came running up and gave Lord Sesshomaru a wooden lunch box. Then left with a bow.

Sesshomaru handed the box to Rin, who slid the top off and began eating as she walked. For a brief moment, Sesshomaru felt a pang of guilt; had he not been feeding her enough?

He shook his head and continued forward, once again pushing the the gate open with ease.

---

Inuyasha stood up and walked over to the doorway of the hut.

"What's wrong Inuyasha?" Kagome asked, sitting on the floor reading _ Romeo and Juliet _ for about the billionth time.

For some reason, Kagome enjoyed the books her cousin, Daichi, had sent her from America. He always used to pick out classics like _ Great Expectations _ and _ The Tell Tale Heart _ then sent Kagome the Japanese translated versions.

"Nothing," Inuyasha answered her question, "I just remembered something."

Kagome shut her book and put it off to the side as she looked at the back of his head quizzically, "What?"

Inuyasha turned to face her before pulling something out of his sleeve. "I forgot to give you your Anniversary gift," he told her.

Kagome's face flushed, _ He got me a gift? _

Taking a seat on the floor next to Kagome, Inuyasha handed her a small trinket; a necklace. Kagome looked closer, it was an intricately woven string with a wooden figure in the middle.

"Is this--?" Kagome gasped.

"Yeah, it is," Inuyasha answered before she could finish her question, "I thought it was only fitting."

Kagome looked at the little curved raindrop. It was the Chinese emblem 'Yin'. The wooden figure was cut brilliantly and colored all white except a small black dot on it.

"Did you make this? All of it?" she asked, not taking her eyes off the beautiful gift.

"Yeah. Carved it out of a tree and wove the string like my mother taught me a long time ago," he explained, "Do you like it?"

Tears came to Kagome's eyes as she looked up at him, "I love it, Inuyasha."

Inuyasha's eyebrows went up. "Wow," he said, "I didn't expect tears until the second part."

Kagome blinked, "Second part?"

Without saying a word, Inuyasha reached up and pulled the neck of his shirt down. There, laying against his chest, was a small, black, curved raindrop with a white dot. Yang.

A whole new wave of moisture overflowed from Kagome's eyes. She wrapped Inuyasha up in a hug, happy tears dripping down her cheeks. Inuyasha hugged her back, his head resting on top of hers.

"I'm glad you like it," he whispered into her hair.

_Outside the hut, Shippo ran off to find Miroku and Sango. _

----------

**_End Part Four  
_**

**_To Be Continued..._**


	5. Part Five

**Inuyasha FanFiction  
_Emotions In Time - Part 5:_**

----------

"Rin, come along," Sesshomaru called.

Rin looked over at Sesshomaru. "Coming!" she shouted.

Rin quickly turned back to the Demon children she had been playing with; two Raccoon-Dog sisters and a Weasel boy.

"I have to go now, farewell," she said with a bow.

The Weasel stepped forward and bowed, "Farewell Princess."

Rin was confused, "I'm sorry, what did you say?"

"Um, 'farewell Princess'?" he repeated in a worried tone.

Rin checked over both of her shoulders, then turned back to the Weasel Demon. "Who? Me?" she asked.

The Weasel nodded, "Yes, Princess."

"Rin, come along," Sesshomaru called again.

Rin bowed once more to the three Demon children before running off to join Lord Sesshomaru.

_ I'm a Princess? How can that be? _ she wondered.

Slipping her hand into Sesshomaru's, she decided it would probably be best not to ask him.

_ Perhaps I can talk to Master Jaken about it later... _

Rin held Sesshomaru's hand as he led her towards the outskirts of the town. The sun was high in the sky and Rin expected that they would be heading back to the castle soon, since they had been walking around all day. Not that it mattered to Rin, she was used to walking a lot. Plus, Sesshomaru had said there was something he wanted to show her.

"Lord Sesshomaru, please tell me..." Rin pleaded.

Sesshomaru said nothing, but continued to lead Rin further and further from the village. When they reached the top of the hill, Rin stopped to look down at the breath-taking view of the village. Sesshomaru looked down as well, but not at the village, at Rin. She was going to love his surprise.

Ever so gently, Sesshomaru tugged at Rin's hand, the sudden motion recaptured Rin's attention. She looked up at Lord Sesshomaru, who smiled at her before he began walking with her again. Not even a moment passed before Rin's impatience was shown.

"When are we getting there?" she asked.

Sesshomaru said nothing.

Rin tried her earlier tactic, "Please Lord Sesshomaru? Where are we going?"

Sesshomaru looked down into Rin's deep chocolate eyes and chuckled. Perhaps he was torturing her a little, but it was nothing she couldn't live through.

"I suppose that is your 'puppy-dog face'?" he acknowledged the look in her eyes.

Rin blinked twice and smiled, "Yes, Lord Sesshomaru, too bad its not as good as yours..."

Sesshomaru wiggled his ears, it always made Rin giggle. Even though Inuyasha looked more like a dog then Sesshomaru did, Rin delighted in the fact that Sesshomaru was, none the less, a dog.

Four bright pink flower petals drifted through the air near Rin. She released Sesshomaru's hand and chased after them, but was only able to catch three.

"Lord Sesshomaru, look!" said Rin, showing him the petals, "It's from a Cherry Blossom, one of the most beautiful Japanese trees."

"Come along Rin," he said, briefly looking at the petals in her hands, "It's not far now."

Rin followed Sesshomaru with new enthusiasm up and over one last hill, where she found herself in the most beautiful place on Earth.

Rin walked to stand in the center of a small grassy meadow surrounded by Cherry Blossom trees. A steady breeze blew petals off the branches and masses of them swirled around Rin.

Sesshomaru watched from afar, smiling to himself. Rin had shown him the Rainbow Waterfall only a few days ago. He only hoped this was enough for her.

_ Hope? _ he questioned, _ Hope is not an emotion. So, why does it bother me to have hope? _

Spinning around and around with the petals, Rin soon got dizzy and collapsed on the ground; a heap of giggles.

Sesshomaru walked up and leaned over her. "Do you like it?" he asked.

Rin sat up and hugged his leg. "I love it," she exclaimed, "It's wonderful."

Rin felt Sesshomaru tense under her touch; all his muscles locked together. She released him and began to apologize, worried that she had upset him.

Sesshomaru scooped Rin up in his arm, cutting off her apology. Without warning, he jumped up and soared towards the village.

_ The scent of the wind is thick with human and demon blood, _ he thought, _ It must be a human attack... _

"Lord Sesshomaru?" Rin cried, "What's happening?"

Sesshomaru didn't answer, but looked down at the ground where thousands of human warriors were attacking the village. Rin saw it too; hundreds of demons fleeing to the castle as ruthless men, (some on foot, some on horseback), burned the huts and houses, and slaughtered demons without mercy.

Only one demon caught Rin's eye. It was her weasel friend from earlier that day; he was trapped on top of a small hut by three men with spears.

"Yasuo!" Rin screamed.

Yasuo the Weasel looked up at the voice who called his name. "Rin!" he cried back to her.

"Lord Sesshomaru, you have to go down! You have to help him!" she pleaded.

"I'm taking you to the castle first," Sesshomaru said firmly, "I will not put you in harm's way."

Rin looked down at Yasuo, back at Sesshomaru. "Please," she begged, "He'll be dead by the time you get back! _ We _ have to save him!"

Without saying anything, Sesshomaru swooped down to the ground and grabbed the weasel off the roof of the hut. Sesshomaru set Yasuo and Rin behind him and faced the three men who now tried to attack him. They were no match for his Poison Claws.

Rin turned to her friend, "Yasuo? Where are the girls?!"

"Ayaka and Saika are already in the castle," he replied.

"As you two should be," Lord Sesshomaru interjected, "Now run, quickly."

Rin nodded and grabbed Yasuo's hand. The two children took off towards the castle.

Sesshomaru turned to face the hordes of oncoming soldiers. "You aren't going anywhere.." he said, lengthening his claws.

---

"That's great," Sango said.

"Indeed," Miroku agreed, "I didn't know Inuyasha had it in him."

Shippo looked back and forth at his two friends as they spoke to one another.

"I knew he had it in him," Sango told Miroku, "I've seen them cuddling when they think we're not paying attention. I just didn't know he could be so... romantic."

Miroku pondered this for a moment, "I see..."

"Why are you two making such a big deal out of this?" Shippo asked.

Sango raised an eyebrow at Shippo. "We're making a big deal out of it?" she questioned, "Your the one who came skipping in singing: 'I know something you don't know, and its really cuuuuuuuuute...'."

Shippo blushed.

"Besides," Sango continued, "It is a big deal."

Shippo folded his arms across his chest, "Inuyasha still hasn't told her he loves her."

"I suppose that's the next step though, isn't it?" Sango half asked, half stated.

"He needs to tell her," said Miroku.

"Maybe she could say something..." Sango suggested.

Miroku shook his head, "No, the man should say something first."

Sango sighed, "It's so annoying when two people who are meant to be together, won't do anything about it!"

"Completely annoying," Miroku agreed.

Shippo stood up and walked to the doorway, "One of these days, you two are gonna need to listen to what your saying... and apply it to yourselves," and he left.

Both Sango and Miroku blushed bright red.

-

Kagome and Inuyasha walked side by side through the lush, green forest.

"Oh!" Kagome said suddenly.

Inuyasha gave her a puzzled look, "What's wrong?"

"I forgot to give you your present!" she told him as she dug in her pocket and pulled out a key chain. Inuyasha didn't move as Kagome clipped the chain onto the Tetsusaiga's hilt.

"It's just your name," she said pointing to the inscription burned into a piece of wood on the end of the chain.

"It's really nice," Inuyasha told her, "Did you make it?"

Kagome smiled, "The wooden piece? Yep."

_ She never ceases to amaze me... _ Inuyasha thought.

Suddenly, Kagome slapped the side of her neck. When she pulled her hand away, a flattened Myoga the flea was in her hand.

Inuyasha noticed the flea, "Myoga? Been a while."

"Ah, Master Inuyasha, salutations," he greeted before jumping out of Kagome's hand to suck blood from Inuyasha's nose.

Inuyasha smashed the flea between his thumb and pointer finger.

"Myoga? What are you doing here?" Kagome asked.

Myoga stood up on the end of Inuyasha's finger to face Kagome before speaking, "I come in need of help. I have some surprising news from the Western Lands."

"Surprising good, or surprising bad?" Inuyasha asked.

"Well... That depends on how you take it," Myoga answered, "It seems your father's castle has been claimed by your older brother Lord Sesshomaru."

Inuyasha raised an eyebrow at him, "So? What do I care?"

"I didn't think you would." Myoga said, "But this next bit has me puzzled, so I have come seeking your advice... Lord Sesshomaru has taken a human girl to be his successor."

Kagome looked at Inuyasha, "Rin?"

He shrugged, "Could be."

"I'm sorry... What is a Rin?" Myoga asked.

"The girl who follows Sesshomaru around," Kagome explained, "Her name is Rin."

Myoga laughed, "Rin? Honestly?"

Inuyasha and Kagome glanced at each other, then back at the flea. "What's so funny?" Inuyasha asked.

"I'm just laughing at the Irony of it," he told them, "The meaning of the name 'Rin' is 'cold one'."

Kagome giggled; now that Myoga pointed it out, it was a little funny.

"I don't get it," Inuyasha complained.

Kagome sighed, "Rin's name means 'cold one', and a 'cold one' would be someone who has no feelings or emotions... Sound like anyone we know?"

"Sesshomaru?"

Kagome nodded, "Exactly Inuyasha. It's funny that Sesshomaru would choose someone with a name that describes his personality."

"Feh," Inuyasha said, "Not anymore."

Myoga raised an eyebrow at Inuyasha, "Master Inuyasha, what ever do you mean?"

"You mean you really haven't noticed?" Inuyasha sighed, "Look, Sesshomaru may hate me with every fiber of his being, but I've seen the way that he looks at that girl. He has feelings now. He loves her."

Kagome blushed. "Wow Inuyasha..." she whispered.

Inuyasha smiled, "He's probably ripping his mind apart now. Sesshomaru is not the kind of person who understands love. Especially not the kind of Father/Daughter love he has for Rin."

"It's weird isn't it? Rin is Sesshomaru's complete opposite." Kagome said.

"What do you mean, Miss Kagome?" Myoga asked.

"Rin isn't a cold person at all," Kagome explained, "She's warm and sweet and kind... Sesshomaru must have a lot of patience to put up with his complete opposite..."

"Yes, well, despite all odds, Sesshomaru has taken Rin to be his successor. Which confuses me," Myoga paused to scratch his head, "Because he would be better off to take her as his wife."

Inuyasha smashed the flea once more. "That's disgusting, Myoga," Inuyasha said, "Do you even know how old she is?"

"Ugh..." Myoga groaned, "Yes, Master Inuyasha, I know she's young, but--"

"But nothing," Inuyasha snapped.

Kagome rolled her eyes. "It's okay, Myoga," she told the flea, "That was my guess at first."

Myoga hopped out of Inuyasha's hand and onto Kagome's shoulder, "Then why do _ you _ think Lord Sesshomaru has chosen to take Rin as his Princess instead of his Lady?"

Kagome smiled, "I have a few theories..."

Inuyasha sat down on the grassy ground. "Here we go..." he mumbled.

Kagome ignored him and sat down as well. "First off," she began, "Her age might be part of the problem, but I'm sure Sesshomaru would wait..."

Myoga nodded his head in agreement.

"But then I was thinking; What if he doesn't want a wife?" Kagome continued, "What if what he really wants is a daughter, like Inuyasha said."

"Hmm... It is possible I suppose," Myoga muttered, "Not very likely though. Even The Great Dog Demon had a companion."

Inuyasha faced away from them. "Two," he hissed.

"Oh, of course," Myoga scrambled to think of what to say, "Two companions."

Kagome came to Myoga's rescue by continuing with her last theory. "Okay, so here's the big one," she told them, "Even though Sesshomaru can't deny that he loves Rin, he's not _ in _ love with her, right?"

Myoga nodded and Inuyasha turned back around to face Kagome.

"Well," Kagome hesitated, "What if he thinks he's not good enough for her?"

"Are you serious?" Inuyasha asked in disbelief, "Sesshomaru thinks he's the greatest being on the planet."

Kagome frowned at Inuyasha, "I've never heard him bragging... and besides, he's a demon."

Inuyasha narrowed his eyes at her, "There something wrong with demons?"

Kagome rolled her eyes, "No, you idiot, don't get mad over nothing. I meant he's a demon, she's a human. He wants to be there to protect her, but he wants her heart to be with another human, so she can have human kids and live as normal a life as possible."

"What do you mean?" Inuyasha asked.

"He doesn't want her to miss out. He wants her to live her life the way it would have been lived if she hadn't met him," she sighed, "It's amazing, isn't it? Even the most hateful people in the world can love."

Inuyasha said nothing.

"Well, I apologize, but I must be off," Myoga told them, "Thank you both for the information on Sesshomaru and Rin." With that said, Myoga hopped away.

When the flea was gone, Kagome stood up and grabbed Inuyasha's hand.

Inuyasha looked at her, "Why do you care about Sesshomaru so much anyway?"

"I care about all good things," she told him.

"But Sesshomaru isn't a 'good thing'," Inuyasha countered.

Kagome smiled at him, as she spoke, "You need to give him more credit, Inuyasha. He's different now."

Inuyasha rolled his eyes, "You're too nice, Kagome. It's annoying sometimes."

Angrily, Kagome snatched her hand back. "Being _ nice _ is _ annoying _?" she shouted at Inuyasha.

He smirked, "Sometimes..."

Kagome was about to yell at Inuyasha some more, (perhaps even tell him to 'sit'), but she didn't get the chance. Inuyasha wrapped his arms around her. He rubbed his cheek against the side of her blushing face, tickling her with his breath as he sniffed her skin.

Kagome swallowed the lump in her throat, "I...hate you, you know that?"

Inuyasha moved his nose up into her hair. It smelled wonderfully of strawberries. "No you don't..." he said quietly into her ear.

Inside her chest, Kagome's heart melted.

----------

**_End Part Five  
_**

**_To Be Continued..._**


	6. Part Six

**Inuyasha FanFiction  
_Emotions In Time - Part 6:_**

----------

WARNING: THIS PART IS A BIT VIOLENT AND GOREY.

----------

"Rin!" Jaken cried, "Rin! Lord Sesshomaru! Where are you?"

"Master Jaken, we have to close the gates!" Kentaro shouted.

Jaken spun around to face Kentaro, the fox demon. "Not without Rin!" he yelled back.

A massive wave of flaming arrows came raining down at the open castle gates.

"Staff of Two Heads!" Jaken shouted, raising his staff above his head.

Fire lept from the mouth of the staff and incinerated over 40 arrows before they could hit the castle gates.

"Please Master Jaken," Kentaro pleaded, "The villagers will not be same until we close the gate! The Princess is with Lord Sesshomaru, she'll be fine."

Jaken racked his brain for what he should do. Finally her turned and said, "Close the gates, but I'm waiting out here."

Kentaro stared at Jaken with solemn eyes, but did not question his decision.

Rin and Yasuo ran as fast as they could, but they were a long ways from the castle. To make matters worse, they were being chased by six or seven soldiers, who continued to shout "Kill the Demons!" over and over again.

_ I may not be a Demon, _ Rin thought, _ but Yasuo is, and I can't let him die! _

Rin took hold of Yasuo's hand and pulled him around a corner, into a hut, where they pressed themselves into the shadows and held their breath.

"Where'd they go?" Yasuo and Rin saw a soldier outside the doorway of the hut looking around, confused.

"They must have ducked inside one of these houses!" a second warrior told the others.

Yasuo cried quietly, obviously scared of being found. Rin held him in her arms to try and calm him.

_ I need to be strong... for both of us, _ she told herself.

"Burn them out!" another warrior shouted, and cold hard fear gripped Rin's heart when she heard it.

Within moments, the hut's roof was ablaze; the fire quickly making its way down the walls. Yasuo sobbed harder.

Rin had to think... either burn alive in here, or face the guards out there.

"Yasuo, follow me," she told the Demon Weasel.

Getting down on her hands and knees and staying below the smoke, Rin crawled out of the burning hut with Yasuo close behind.

Once outside the hut, Rin grabbed Yasuo's hand again and tried to run for it. The warriors were ready though; one man grabbed Rin by the hair, another grabbed Yasuo's Weasel tail, and the two friends were wretched apart.

"Let me go!" Rin cried as she grabbed at the hand that held her hair.

"Hey Boss!" her attacker shouted, "This one's human!"

A well armored man on horseback came over to where Rin was being held in the air. "Are you sure?' the man asked.

Rin's attacker nodded, "Positive. She's not even responding to the torture Sutra."

Looking down at her orange, yellow and green Kimono, Rin noticed a piece of paper was stuck to her clothing at the hip.

_ When did they put that on me? _ she wondered.

"Well this one is," a voice called.

Rin looked up at the voice of the second soldier from before. In his right hand was Yasuo; who writhed and screamed in pain from the Sutra on his shoulder.

"Stop! Please! You're hurting him!" Rin cried, "Please! He's only child!"

"They must have bewitched this one, Boss," Rin's attacker told the man on horseback, "Think she's a hostage or something?"

"I don't know," the man called 'Boss' answered, "Give her to me."

Rin was handed over to 'Boss', who placed her in the saddle in front of him and held her still with one hand.

"What about the Demon, Boss?" asked the warrior holding Yasuo.

Boss shrugged, "Kill him."

"NO!" Rin shrieked; but it was too late.

The crack of bone filled Rin's ears, and she watched in horror as the second soldier snapped Yasuo's neck like a small twig.

"Yasuo..." Rin whispered.

The last thing Rin saw before her eyes blurred with tears was Yasuo's limp body being tossed into a burning hut, right before it collapsed.

Sesshomaru crouched on the roof of a hut as twenty or thirty warriors came after him. In a attempt to get him down from the rooftop, the soldiers lit the hut on fire, but Sesshomaru just jumped to another roof.

When he landed on the roof of the hut behind the men, he swiftly took hold of Tokijin and left no one standing.

After jumping across a couple more houses, Sesshomaru reached the castle gates. Where Jaken was single-handedly trying to ward off fourteen soldiers and a battering ram. Using his Whip of Light, Sesshomaru sliced all fourteen men in half with a wave of his arm.

"Jaken," Sesshomaru looked down at the Imp, "Why aren't you in the castle?"

"They needed to shut the gates," Jaken explained, "I wanted to wait out here for you and Rin."

Sesshomaru's eyes widened, "She's not here?"

Jaken shook his head, "No, My Lord. I though Rin was with you."

Sesshomaru looked around the village, most of the huts were on fire, as were many Human and Demon corpses.

_ If her body burns to ash, I won't be able to bring her back, _ Sesshomaru's stomach lurched slightly at the thought.

Lord Sesshomaru lept from the ground and sailed across the sky above the village, searching for Rin.

----------

"Ow...ow..._ ow! _" Inuyasha cried.

Kagome stamped her foot impatiently, "Oh, will you shut up!"

"You're hurting me!" Inuyasha whimpered.

Kagome rolled her eyes, "I can't believe you can tell me a hole the side of a volleyball in your abdomen is nothing, but you can't get your hair brushed without crying like Shippo with poison ivy."

"Well, my abdomen is stronger than my head."

"I don't see how that's possible," Kagome told him, "You've always been stubborn and hard-headed."

Inuyasha folded his arms and pouted.

Letting out a sigh, Kagome returned to brushing out the last of his tangles. When she finished, she rubbed his ears softly, just the way he liked it. Pretty soon she felt his body relax under her touch. Kagome returned the brush to her backpack and sat down next to Inuyasha.

"So... with all this talk about Sesshomaru and Rin... I've been thinking..." Kagome twiddled her thumbs as she spoke.

Inuyasha looked at her out of the corner of his eye, "'Bout what?"

"Well," Kagome began, "I want to do something nice for Sesshomaru." She paused, uncertain of how she wanted to say this, but ended up blurting out, "I want to give him his arm back," before she could stop herself.

Inuyasha raised his eyebrow, "How do you plan to do that?"

Kagome looked down at the ground. "The Sacred Jewel..." she mumbled.

"Mm... I don't think that's a good idea," Inuyasha explained, "The Jewel will be tainted if you use it to help a demon."

Kagome looked back up at Inuyasha, his eyes seemed miles away in thought, even though he was talking to her. "Yeah, but, the Jewel will still be in my possession, so I can just purify it again," she argued.

Inuyasha nodded once and closed his eyes, "That's true, but you need to think more of Sesshomaru. Do you honestly think he wants an arm back that his half-demon brother lobbed off?"

Kagome opened her mouth to tell him 'Of course', but after a second thought about it she just sighed and whispered, "I guess not."

"Sesshomaru is just as stubborn as I am, Kagome," Inuyasha explained, opening his eyes again, "That in mind--"

Suddenly, Inuyasha laid down and rolled around in the dirt, tangling up the hair Kagome had just brushed out.

"Inuyasha! You monster!" Kagome shouted, jumping to her feet, "Sit boy! Sit boy! Sit! Sit! Sit! Sit! Sit boy!"

Inuyasha was repeatedly slammed into the ground by his enchanted beads. Each 'Sit!' command crashed him deeper and deeper into the ground with pain.

"K - Ka - gome... please..." he groaned.

Kagome's expression was hard and her eyes were mean, "You like the dirt so much? Fine. Sit boy!"

Inuyasha was smashed into the ground once more.

"Sango!" Miroku called as he ran to catch up with her.

Sango turned around to see the voice that called her name, "Miroku?"

Miroku came to a stop next to Sango. "You are going to visit Kohaku, are you not?" he asked.

"Yes... I am," she said nodding.

"May I join you?" he asked.

Sango took Miroku's hand in hers. "I'd like that," she told him.

Miroku liked it when Sango held his hand, it stopped him from doing anything lecherous to her, (which he had been trying to control for some time now, with extremely slow progress). He also liked the fact that he no longer needed to wear his prayer beads; now, he could feel her hand on his palm, where the wind tunnel had once been.

The two walked hand in hand, across a large field and over a hill, in silence. They were headed to a place of happiness and sorrow. The scene of Naraku's defeation.

A large crater laid at the bottom of the hill with a stone in the very center. The evil ora had dissipated lately, and the grass was finally beginning to grow over the black baron area.

Sango and Miroku walked to the single tombstone in the center of the crater and knelt down before it to pray.

_ Naraku had planned this all too well._

_Inuyasha...Kagome...Shippo...Sango...Kirara...Miroku...Sesshomaru...Rin...AuUn...Jaken...Koga...Hakaku...Ginnta... all were in a fight to the death they might not walk away from._

_All their strength was wearing thin, but Naraku was barely trying. Perhaps their efforts were in vain._

_'Sango!' Miroku cried as he tried to suck Naraku's flesh off her body with his Wind Tunnel._

_Kirara and Kagome were in the same predicaments... Inuyasha was crying out for Kagome, who was completely covered in bubbling flesh that was on the verge of consuming her; mind, body and soul._

_'Miroku,' Sango struggled to breathe as the flesh constricted around her, 'go...save ka - gom... e.'_

_'No Sango!' Miroku said firmly, 'I'm not leaving you!' _

Sango shook her head, trying to run the memories out of her mind, but they came back again.

_ Miroku and Shippo were captured now, and Sango was almost completely covered. Inuyasha was still trying to hack away at Kagome without hurting her, and Rin was using a stick to try to help him. Sesshomaru, who had been holding Naraku off for a while was suddenly caught in Naraku's grasp and lost his sword._

_'AuUn!' Rin cried, 'Save Lord Sesshomaru!'_

_AuUn sliced through the arm holding Sesshomaru, only to be thrown against a rock wall by another one of Naraku's arms. Then, instead of going after Sesshomaru again, Naraku turned on Rin._

_Rin tried to run, she no longer had Jaken, (he had been thrown against a rock and knocked unconscious earlier when he had tried to protect her), so she had to protect herself. Naraku smashed an arm into a rock cliff above her and rocks began tumbling down upon her. Sesshomaru, now barely able to move, plunged under the falling rocks and tucked her in in his arms when the rocks buried them._

_'Sesshomaru! Rin!' Inuyasha shouted._

_Naraku took advantage of Inuyasha's momentary distraction and knocked his sword from his hands before wrapping him in flesh._

_'Fools!' Naraku said with a laugh, 'You actually thought you could defeat me?'_

_Kohaku was the only one of Naraku's slaves present, and he stood idly by, still locked in a trance as Naraku slowly killed them all._

_'...rin?...sango?...' he barely whispered._

_'Ko-ha-ku,' Sango choked out, 'I'm s-so sorry...I f-failed you.'_

_Suddenly, something in Kohaku snapped. Even though Naraku had erased his memories for the second time, the images suddenly flowed into every corner of his mind. He blinked a couple times, refocusing on the future._

_'Er, Sango? SANGO, NO!' Kohaku cried as the last of his sister was covered. _

Sango stood up and looked down upon the inscription on the tomb. 'Kohaku: beloved son, friend and brother... he will be dearly missed.' Tears filled her eyes and the smell of the burning incense filled her nose. She carefully placed one of Kohaku's secret flowers on the tomb.

_ Kohaku used his knife-chain to rip his back open and grab the Sacred Jewel Shard that kept him alive._

_Before Naraku could stop him, Kohaku threw the Jewel Shard at the mass of flesh that contained his sister. On contact with the Jewel Shard, the flesh around Sango erupted from her and she fell to the ground gasping._

_With a groan, Sango looked up to see Kohaku down on his knees now. 'Kohaku!' she screamed._

_'Insolent bastard!' Naraku shouted as he raised Sesshomaru's sword to Kohaku's neck._

_At that moment, time itself seem to slow._

_'Sango,' Kohaku whispered, 'You didn't fail..."_

_Sango stared at her brother, paralyzed by fear. _

Underneath Kohaku's name and stature were his last words.

'I will die remembering...'

_And Kohaku's headless body fell to the ground._


	7. Part Seven

**Inuyasha FanFiction  
_Emotions In Time - Part Seven:_**

----------

WARNING: THIS PART IS A BIT VIOLENT AND GOREY.

----------

The small amount of soldiers that valued their lives were retreating.

Lord Sesshomaru was on the ground now, swiftly killing those who got in his way. Whether they challenged him or not.

Suddenly, he veered to the left, attracted to a man with Rin's scent on his hands.

Sesshomaru caught the man around the throat and hoisted him off the ground.

"Tell me where the girls is!" Sesshomaru demanded, his eyes flicking red for a second.

"Go to hell Demon!" Rin's attacker yelled at him.

Sesshomaru smirked. "You first," he told the man before launching him through the air where he crashed into the remains of a burned down building.

The warrior tried to get up and run, but was only able to sit up since the fall had broken his left leg. Sesshomaru pulled Tokijin from his belt and placed the tip of the sword to the bottom of the man's chin.

"I will not repeat myself to a mortal," Sesshomaru told the man, "So tell me what I want to know."

"O-Our boss, General Yuudai took her," the man stumbled to get the words out of his mouth fast enough, "He's on a horse, so their probably at the top of the hill-"

The warrior was unable to finish however, because a large chunk of burning timber fell from the hut next to them and crushed the man to death.

Sesshomaru jumped away, not even giving the man a second glance as he took off to the top of the hill.

-

Rin struggled in the Boss' lap, desperately trying to free herself from his grasp.

"Let me go!" she shouted at him.

The Boss, (General Yuudai), looked down at the angry eleven-year-old girl. "My, you're a fighter," he commented.

Rin grabbed at the hand that held her waist; if only she were stronger! "When Lord Sesshomaru gets here, you are going to regret the day you were born!" she hissed at Yuudai.

"Lord Sesshomaru you say? That wouldn't happen to be _ the _ Lord Sesshomaru, would it? The elder son of the great Dog Demon Inu no Taishou?" Yuudai asked.

"Yes, it... is..." Rin answered, trying to reach her head down to bite Yuudai's hand, "So, you better put me down and escape... escape while you... can!"

The General laughed at Rin's verbal onslaught, "So you'd rather live with a monster..."

"What are _ you _ laughing at?" Rin shouted, "You're the monster."

"Young girl, you have no right to speak to me that way. I am a great leader-"

"You-" Rin cut him off, "-are a murderer! You gave an order to kill a _ child! _"

Rin's proclamation angered Yuudai. "It was a demon!" Yuudai said defensively, "It had to be destroyed!"

"_ He _ was only nine!" she shrieked, "And he didn't deserve to die!" Tears rolled down Rin's cheeks at the loss of her friend.

"You will understand after you have lived in our village for a couple years..." Yuudai told her.

"I am _ so sick _ of people trying to make me live in a normal village with disgusting people like _ you _!" she screamed through more tears.

-

Sesshomaru's nose burned with the salty scent of Rin's tears as he landed on the top of the hill and looked down. There were three men on horseback mixed in the handful of retreating soldiers. After looking closer at each of the horses, he found the one with two passengers; a large male and a small girl.

"Rin..." he whispered, secretly relieved to see her unharmed.

Only on jump put Sesshomaru in front of the horse, which shied back in surprise.

"Lord Sesshomaru!" Rin cried, overjoyed to see he had come for her.

"Release her, immediately," Sesshomaru ordered Yuudai, cracking his knuckles.

Yuudai frowned at Sesshomaru and tightened his grip on Rin. "Ow," she whimpered in pain. Sesshomaru's eyes flashed red for a brief second.

Yuudai raised an eyebrow at Sesshomaru. _ How badly does this evil creature care for this girl? _ he wondered.

The General took it upon himself to learn the meaning of Sesshomaru's red eyes, and tightened his grip on the girl a little more. "Ah! Stop!" Rin cried out, "Let me go, please!" Just like before, at the sound of Rin's pain, Sesshomaru's eyes flashed red.

"I see..." Yuudai said, meeting Sesshomaru's hate filled glare, "It angers you to see the little girl harmed."

Sesshomaru eyebrows slanted down into an expression of sheer anger. "Get one thing straight, Yuudai," Sesshomaru said, bringing out his Whip of Light, "The more you hurt her, the longer I will make you suffer before you die."

Yuudai snickered, "If you can get me that is."

Skillfully, Sesshomaru used his whip to slice the horse's legs off, which threw Yuudai and Rin from the saddle. They separated in mid air and fell to the ground.

"Lord Sesshomaru!" Rin cried, scrambling to her feet. She tried to run to him, but was intercepted by Yuudai, who grabbed her and held a dagger to her neck.

"One move and she dies," Yuudai threatened.

"Do it then!" Rin's challenged, her inner strength was heard through her voice, "Sesshomaru will kill you and bring me back!"

"T-That's not possible!" Yuudai snapped.

Sesshomaru narrowed his eyes at the despicable man who held Rin at knife-point. "Do not underestimate me," he warned.

Yuudai smirked, "Oh, I won't." he assured Sesshomaru, "I know that you are going to kill me, even if I spare the girl's life..."

Sesshomaru's eyes widened, _ No! _

"...so I won't."

Then suddenly, the knife Yuudai had just been holding was gone. Only the handle, dripping with blood, stuck out of Rin's throat.

"Lord... Sess-Sess-sho-maru..." Rin gasped with blood oozing from the coner of her mouth.

Sesshomaru stared silently.

Rin smiled at him. "Hu-Hurry ba-ck..." she managed to whisper before her breath was gone.

----------

"Figured you'd be here Sango."

Sango opened her eyes to look at the voice who had just spoke to her. It was Inuyasha, standing alongside Kagome.

Inuyasha looked over Sango's head at Miroku, "Didn't expect you, though."

Miroku shrugged and returned to his silent prayer of eternal piece for Kohaku. Sango's face was red and stiff from her crying. Kagome hugged Sango in an effort to console her. Inuyasha sat down and prayed near them.

The memories of Naraku's defeat were bittersweet, and hurt more than just Sango.

_ Naraku was done for, even he could see that._

Sango had been able to free almost everyone from Naraku's flesh, but Kagome was still unreachable.

The whole team, (and Sesshomaru - who had been busy fighting off Hakudoshi before), were quickly wearing down Naraku's strength and coming closer and closer to the infant heart he had reabsorbed into his body.

Inuyasha was a lunatic as he desperately tried to hack away at the stone hard flesh that contained Kagome; with no progress.

'It's too late, Inuyasha,' Naraku laughed at his efforts, 'I have devoured the young woman's soul. Soon, I will have her mind and body as well.'

'Naraku!' a voice from behind shouted.

Everyone stopped what they were doing and turned to see Kikyo standing not far from them. Her arrow was drawn and aimed at Naraku, but there was something else too. Her arrowhead was drenched in her own blood and glowing brightly.

'It ends now!' she yelled and released the arrow. 

Kagome looked over at Inuyasha. He was thinking of Kikyo, she could tell. Kagome placed a hand on her heart.

_ Inuyasha held Kagome's cold body in his arms, pressing his forehead against hers._

'Kagome...' he whispered.

'Inuyasha...' Miroku called quietly, placing a hand on his shoulder, 'It's not your fault, you did all you could.'

Inuyasha shook Miroku's hand off. 'It's not fair, she shouldn't have...' his words died as a growl erupted from his throat, 'Why didn't he kill me? I'm the one who should have died! Not her. Not Kagome...'

Sango and Shippo were crying too, behind Inuyasha. Miroku and Kirara had their heads bowed, Miroku himself close to tears. Even Rin was crying, but not as hysterically as Shippo. Sesshomaru stood beside Rin, silently watching.

'Please, Lord Sesshomaru,' Rin sniffed, 'Can't you bring her back?'

Sesshomaru closed his eyes and bowed his head slightly. 'No, I cannot,' he explained, 'Her soul was not taken away by the Pallbearers of the Netherworld, it was devoured. It's vanished... and I can't bring back something that no longer exists.'

A single tear rolled down Inuyasha's cheek and landed on Kagome's closed eyelid.


	8. Part Eight

**Inuyasha FanFiction  
_Emotions In Time - Part Eight:_**

----------

THIS PART IS ONLY SLIGHTLY GOREY.

----------

Inuyasha glanced over at Kagome, her eyes were closed now, and she had her hand over her heart. She was thinking about Kikyo; he could tell.

_ 'Inuyasha,' a voice called._

Inuyasha raised his head and locked gazes with Kikyo, who knelt before him. Her face held a solemn expression as she placed her hand on his cheek and wiped his tear trail off his face with her thumb.

'You love her, don't you?' she asked him.

He didn't answer. He didn't need to though, Kikyo could see it written all over his face.

She smiled and nodded once, 'Right then, good-bye Inuyasha.'

'K-Kikyo? You're leaving?' Inuyasha asked.

Kikyo smiled at him, 'My mind and my body will be gone, but my soul will remain, and my heart will always be yours to keep.'

Suddenly, Inuyasha's thoughts clicked together. He looked down at Kagome's lifeless body, then looked back up. 'Kikyo...' he whispered.

'I can rest in piece now Inuyasha,' she explained, 'and more than that, I can bring you constant joy when I'm gone...'

Kikyo placed her left hand on Kagome's heart, and her right one on her own heart. She closed her eyes, content with what she was about to do.

Ever so slowly, Kikyo's body rose from the ground and the glowing around her body got brighter and brighter until her soul peeled itself from her body. When the soul had been peeled, Kikyo's body fried out and turned to ash, which blew away in the wind.

But Kikyo's soul remained just as she had said it would.

After a moment of swaying back and forth, Kikyo's soul lowered itself into Kagome's body. There was a flash of light as the soul took its place in Kagome's body, then it was done.

Inuyasha watched with mixed emotions as Kagome's eyelids fluttered open.

'Inuyasha...' she whispered. 

----------

It took a lot of effort, but Sesshomaru controlled the rage that cursed through his veins. He didn't want to change into his true form, he wanted to kill this man with his bare hands.

And so he did.

At blinding speed, Sesshomaru caught Yuudai by the neck and slammed him to the ground.

"You repulsive bastard!" Sesshomaru said through clenched teeth, as his Poison Claws extended into Yuudai's throat. Green poison made its way into Yuudai's blodstream, then circulated through his body at a painfully slow rate.

Sesshomaru smiled as Yuudai writhed in pain. The persicion Sesshomaru had used when he inserted the poison into his neck would cause him to suffer for a little less than a day. Long-term pain; _ perfect _.

Sesshomaru released Yuudai and spun around to get Rin. She was laying on her side in a pool of blood. Some of it was dried to her face, but most of it was being soaked up by her Kimono. There was no hesitation as Sesshomaru pulled the blood drenched dagger from her neck and dropped it to the ground.

Sesshomaru stood and pulled Tensaiga from its sheath. Just as he expected, the sword pulsed once and he was suddenly able to see the Pallbearers from the Netherworld. There were four, and Sesshomaru easily sliced all of them with one swing.

After returning Tensaiga to its sheath, Sesshomaru knelt down and gathered Rin in his arm before he took to the sky. The wound on her neck was closed, and she opened her eyes as the neared the castle.

"Sleep, Rin," Sesshomaru told her, "You are in need of rest."

Rin nodded and layed her head against Sesshomaru's armoured chest. "I knew you'd bring me back..." she whispered, drifting into sleep.

-

Later that night, Sesshomaru sat on the front steps of the castle gazing up at the stars.

_ Curse that General Yuudai, _ Sesshomaru's thoughts were nothing less than vile towards the man, _ he specifically postponed his attack in order to get me. _

It was true. Shortly after Sesshomaru and Rin returned to the castle, Jaken informed Sesshomaru that General Yuudai had been waiting a year and a half for Sesshomaru to return before he attacked the village, thinking he could kill the great Lord Sesshomaru while his men exterminated the Demon Village.

"Mortals are so ignorant," Sesshomaru said to no one, "Waiting around for the most dangerous enemy..."

Sesshomaru shook his head, _ And then to get Rin involved like that. _ His teeth clenched together when he thought of Rin's death earlier that day.

_ Speaking of Rin... _ he thought.

"Shouldn't you be in bed?" Sesshomaru asked, looking at a wooden pillar out of the corner of his eye.

Rin's head slowly came out from behind the pillar, then the rest of her body. "I'm sorry My Lord," she apologized.

Sesshomaru looked up at the sky, "Sleep troubles?"

Rin lowered her head. "...yes..." she mumbled.

"Well that's too be expected," Sesshomaru told her, still looking up at the sky, "You had a rough day."

Rin walked a couple steps forward and sat on the top step next to Sesshomaru. She kept her arms around her while she looked up at the sky.

"It's nice to have the moon back," Rin commented.

Sesshomaru nodded once and some of his silver hair moved onto his shoulder, where it glittered in the moonlight. Rin watched it sparkle until she was overcome with a shudder and wrapped herself into a ball.

Sesshomaru looked down at her and sighed. "You should be in bed, Rin," he said.

"N-No," she protested, "I'm fine."

_ She's so stubborn, _ Sesshomaru thought as he lifted the fur from his shoulder and wrapped it around her.

Warmth flooded through Rin as she snuggled into Sesshomaru's warm fur. "Thank you," she wispered.

Sesshomaru said nothing, but turned to look up at the sky again.

"Um, Lord Sesshomaru?" Rin's voice was small and quiet, "I talked to Master Jaken today. He told me you are taking me as your heir..."

Sesshomaru closed his eyes, "I am."

"Oh," Rin was slightly surprised, she thought Jaken had been lying, "So, I am a Princess?"

Sesshomaru nodded, silently pleased that Rin was finding out at last.

Rin smiled, "You're determined to make me live in a village, aren't you, Lord Sesshomaru?"

He chuckled. "So it would seem," he replied.

"I like it when you laugh," Rin's voice was quiet again, "It took you a while to laugh."

"There was never much to laugh about before..." he told her. Rin nodded in agreement. Then they were both silent, but not for long.

"So we're staying?" it was meant to be a question, but Rin made it sound more like a statement.

Sesshomaru opened his eyes and looked down at Rin, "Can you be happy here?"

"Will you stay with me?" she asked, meeting his gaze. He nodded. "Then, yes," she answered.

Sometime later in the night, Rin fell asleep, and was carried to her room by Sesshomaru.

After laying Rin on her bed and covering her with a blanket, Sesshomaru brushed a few stray hairs from her forehead. Then he silently slipped out the door.

_ Father? Is this what it's like? _ Sesshomaru wondered, _ Is this what you wanted me to see? This is what it's like to care about a mortal? This is what it's like to love a mortal? _

Sesshomaru walked down the hallway looking at the ground. "Father. I do not agree with your love for... Izyoai, and the birth of Inuyasha," he said quietly, "But I understand now."


	9. Part Nine

**Inuyasha FanFiction  
_Emotions In Time - Part Nine:_**

----------

DON'T WORRY; GORE"S OVER.

----------

Kagome stretched her arms up to the sky. "I love it up here," she told Inuyasha.

Inuyasha opened one eye and looked down at Kagome below him. "Yeah," he agreed, "It's nice, I guess."

The two were on separate branches of a tree that overlooked their village. Including the Shikon Shrine and their house.

Kagome sprawled out on her branch, looking up at Inuyasha. "So, what do you want to do today?" she asked him casually.

Inuyasha closed his eye and shifted himself on his branch, "Why're you asking me?"

"Well, I thought there might be something you wanted to do..."

He shrugged, "Not really."

Kagome stood up on her branch and inched over to Inuyasha. Holding onto the branch Inuyasha was on, she rested her chin on his leg. "Is there really nothing you want to do?" she asked him.

Inuyasha opened his eyes again. "Uh...um..." he said blushing.

"Yo! Kagome!" a voice below them shouted.

Kagome spun around to see who called her, and lost her footing.

"Kagome!" Inuyasha yelled as she fell to the ground.

"Gotcha!" the voice said as Kagome landed in the arms of Koga the Wolf.

Koga stood Kagome up on the ground next to him. "Why, Kagome, I do believe you've fallen for me," he chuckled.

Inuyasha landed on the ground next to Kagome and wrapped his arms around her. "Are you okay, Kagome?" he asked with a worried tone.

Kagome blushed, "Um, yeah, I'm fine..."

"...no thanks to you, mutt," Koga added, "Now get your hands off my Kagome!"

Inuyasha narrowed his eyes at Koga, and tightened his arms round Kagome a little. "She doesn't belong to you, Koga," he growled.

Koga folded his arms across his chest, "Not yet, but she will soon."

"No, she won't," Inuyasha snapped, moving Kagome behind him, "She will never belong to anyone. She's not a item you can collect Koga!"

"Inuyasha..." Kagome whispered, smiling.

Inuyasha continued, "It took a while, but I learned that. A person can't belong to you! They have to choose you!"

"I'm sure she'd choose me, if you'd let her!" Koga yelled.

Inuyasha blinked, "What?"

"Face it Inuyasha, you're so obsessed with 'protecting her', you haven't actually let her choose! You're forcing her to be with you" Koga shouted.

Inuyasha growled, "I'm gonna make you regret those words."

"Bring it on," Koga challenged.

Kagome moved around Inuyasha to stand between him and Koga. "You guys, please stop," she begged.

In one swift movement, Koga pulled Kagome into his arms and kissed her. Kagome tried to push him away, but she was no match for the strength that kept her glued to him.

Then suddenly he was gone. Inuyasha had grabbed his ponytail and thrown him against a tree 15 feet away.

"Don't you _ ever _ do that again!" Inuyasha yelled.

Koga stood up and wiped some blood from the corner of his mouth with the back of his hand. "Gotcha mad, huh pup?" he asked with a smirk, "Hope you don't mind the smell of Wolf on Kagome. Or should I say _ in.... _"

"You bastard!" Inuyasha shouted as he ran and tackled Koga.

The two were soon rolling around in the dirt, clawing and biting at each other. Koga got one of Inuyasha's ears in his mouth and bit down hard. No matter what Inuyasha did, Koga would not let go.

Kagome reached into the fight to try to pull Koga off of Inuyasha. At the same time, Inuyasha swiveled his head around to bite Koga...

"Ah!" Kagome cried, falling back and holding her arm to her chest.

Neither Inuyasha or Koga had seen what had happened, but they smelled Kagome's blood as soon as it mixed with the air and stopped fighting.

Inuyasha crouched next to Kagome, "Kagome, what happened?"

Kagome looked up into Inuyasha's eyes, tears brimming in her own from the pain as she held out her blood stained sleeve.

"Inuyasha...you..." she had to swallow the lump in her throat before she could finish, "...you bit me."

Inuyasha's eyes widened as he looked closer at her arm.

Koga hit Inuyasha over the back of the head. "You filthy dog, I can't believe you _ bit _ her," Koga ranted, "And you're supposed to be the one protecting..."

Ignoring the throbbing in the back of his head, Inuyasha gathered Kagome in his arms and headed toward the village. Kagome rested her head on Inuyasha's shoulder, looking up at him. Koga followed behind, sulking silently.

Inuyasha leaned down to kiss Kagome's forehead. "I'm so sorry, Kagome..." he whispered.

"It's okay," she told him, "I shouldn't have stuck my arm in."

"Don't you dare blame this on yourself Kagome," he said, "I shouldn't have been fighting with that miserable excuse for a wolf in the first place."

"I'm right here!" Koga said behind them.

"Yeah? I know," Inuyasha said over his shoulder. Kagome giggled.

When they reached the village, Inuyasha headed straight for Kaede's hut.

"Kaede!" Inuyasha called when he could see the small building, "Kaede? You there?"

A moment later, Kaede appeared at the doorway. "Inuyasha?" she asked, surprised to see him, "What be the matter?"

"Kagome got hurt," he explained as Kaede let the group inside, "Can you treat dog bites?"

Kaede nodded, "Aye, I can."

Inuyasha laid Kagome down on the floor, letting her head rest in his lap. He silently played with her hair as Kaede cleaned and medicated Kagome's arm.

As Kaede finished bandaging Kagome's wound she looked up at Koga, who sat in the corner watching. "And who might ye be, stranger? A Demon, I see, but have you a name?" she asked him.

"The name's Koga," he answered gruffly, "Who're you?"

"I am Lady Kaede," she introduced herself, "Are you the one who bit Miss Kagome?"

Koga smirked and pointed at Inuyasha.

Kaede looked at Inuyasha, "Inuyasha, you-"

"Kaede," Kagome interrupted, "It was an accident. Are you finished?"

Kaede said nothing, but nodded.

Kagome tried to get up, but fell back into Inuyasha's arms, woozy from blood loss and herbal painkiller. "Inuyasha..." she groaned, "I want to go home."

"Okay," he whispered, lifting her into his arms. He thanked Kaede and left the hut.

After walking for a little bit, Kagome fell asleep snuggled against Inuyasha's chest.

Koga had been following them the whole time. "So, you two, live together?" he asked.

"In a house next to the Shikon Shrine. Miroku, Sango, Shippo and Kirara share the house with use too," Inuyasha told him, "Took us two months to build it and the bath house."

Koga said nothing.

Inuyasha sighed, "Stay with us tonight. Kagome would want you to."

"I'd prefer to sleep in the dirt," Koga scoffed.

"I'm sure you would - wolves being filthy creatures and all -" Inuyasha retorted, "But Kagome will beat herself up all day tomorrow if you do."

Koga pondered this for a moment. "Okay," he finally agreed, "For Kagome's sake."

It was at that time that Inuyasha, Kagome and Koga arrived at the house. Koga looked around, puzzled.

"I thought you said your house was next to the Shikon Shrine," Koga remembered.

"It is," Inuyasha assured him, "Kagome has a barrier protecting it, so not even I know where it is exactly."

Koga's reply was a simple, "Hmph." Then he ran ahead to slide the door open for Inuyasha and Kagome.

Inside the first room of the house Miroku, Shippo and Kirara were sitting on pillows in front of each of their own small square tables. Sango was on the other side of the room, stoking the fire and filling up bowls of rice and fish. They all looked up with worried glances when Inuyasha came in with Kagome.

"What happened?" Sango asked, standing up.

Koga followed through th front door, shutting it behind him. "Mutt-face here bit her," he told them.

There was a room full of gasps in reaction.

Inuyasha kept his cool though. "Open the door on the left," he told Koga, before turning to the others, "I'll explain later."

Koga slid the left door, across the room, open for Inuyasha. Inside was a room that Kagome shared with Sango and Kirara. Inuyasha gently laid Kagome down on one of the two beds on the floor, then sat against the wall next to her. Koga sat across from him, on the other side of Kagome.

A few moments passed and all that was heard were the sounds of Sango, Miroku and Shippo eating their dinner. Inuyasha was surprised that it was already the end of the day.

Koga stood up, "Well, I don't know about you, but I hear trout callin' my name."

The mere mention of food made Inuyasha's stomach growl loudly.

"And your stomach," Koga commented before leaving the room.

A little while later, Inuyasha could hear his friends chatting and eating with Koga. He ignored the smell of food coming from the next room by watching Kagome's rhythmic breathing while she slept.

"Kagome..." he whispered, "...I'm so sorry..."

_ Maybe it'd be better if she wasn't with me anymore, _ he thought, _ Then maybe her life could be better. She could live a normal life with a human, maybe Akitoki Hojo... _

Inuyasha crept forward on his hands and feet to hover over Kagome. She slept so peacefully, Inuyasha wondered what she was dreaming about.

Almost as if she had heard his thoughts, Kagome rolled over and whispered, "Inuyasha..."

Inuyasha's eyes widened at the sound of his name, then softened and he smiled down at Kagome.

"I could never leave you...I have to protect you..." he whispered, "...but maybe..."

Kagome sighed in her sleep.

Inuyasha chuckled, "Humans are the greediest of all living creatures...so I won't be leaving you for good..."

"Adorable Inuyasha," Sango said from the open doorway, "Now, try saying that to her while she's awake."

Inuyasha blushed and quickly shifted away from Kagome.

Sango shook her head and sighed; _ Why can't he be more up front about him and Kagome? _

"I-uh-I-was just-" Inuyasha stuttered, caught off guard.

"Out Inuyasha. I'm going to bed," Sango told him.

"But-" he started to protest.

Sango held up her hand, "But nothing, get out."

Koga snickered behind Sango, "It's okay dog-breath. She won't let me stay in there either."

Inuyasha narrowed his eyes at Koga, "Pfft..."

"Out," Sango commanded.

Inuyasha rose to his feet, only to lean back down again to tuck in Kagome's blanket. Before he walked out, Inuyasha brushed the back of his hand against Kagome's cheek.

"Take care of her, Sango," he said as he left the room.

Kirara slipped in the room right before Sango closed the door and looked down at Kagome.

_ Maybe he's more up front than I thought, _ she thought, smiling.

Out in the front room, the fire was dimming. Miroku and Shippo were heading into the room on the right and Koga was sprawled out on the floor.

"Inuyasha? Are you coming to bed?" Shippo asked.

Inuyasha glanced at Koga, who showed off extremely fake 'innocent eyes'. "Um, no," he told Shippo, "I think I'll stay out here, actually."

Shippo shrugged and closed the bedroom door.

Koga rolled over to face the wall, "Your friends saved you some dinner, it's in the pot."

After raising an eyebrow in Koga's direction, Inuyasha poured the contents of the pot into a bowl. He ate quietly, staring at Kagome's door; trying to avoid the uncomfortable situation, but not for long.

"Koga?" Inuyasha broke the tensed silence of the room, "Can I ask you... for a favor?"

Koga continued to stare at the wall as he spoke to Inuyasha, "What kind of favor?"

Inuyasha took a deep breath and had to swallow twice before he could speak, "I want you to take Kagome."


	10. Part Ten

**Inuyasha FanFiction  
_Emotions In Time - Part Ten:_**

----------

Sesshomaru was sitting under a tree out in the courtyard, letting Rin braid flowers into his hair, as the sun was just starting to rise. Even though he loathed this, he kept his mouth shut because Rin enjoyed it, and she needed a little joy right now.

They had both just changed out of their mourning clothing. Yasue's funeral had been only moments ago, under the early morning stars, and Rin no longer had her happy spark.

Sesshomaru prayed for something good to happen to her. He hated seeing her so unhappy.

Rin pulled another white flower from the pile by her feet and wove it into Lord Sesshomaru's hair. After a few uncomfortable moments of silence, she began humming as she worked.

"What is that?" Sesshomaru asked.

Rin stopped braiding and humming, "What is what, My Lord?"

Sesshomaru tilted his head back, in her lap, to look up at Rin. "That song," he clarified, "I remember you used to sing it quite often."

"Oh," Rin was caught by surprise. She didn't expect that he would remember something as insignificant as that. "It's just…well…" she tripped over what to say, "When you would leave me by myself with only AuUn, I would make up songs. That was the one I remember best."

"Hmm…" Sesshomaru brought his head forward again, "I see. What do you call it?"

Rin smiled a shaky smile, and began to braid his hair again. "Await Lord Sesshomaru's Return," she told him.

"Can you… sing it?" he asked.

"I think I remember the words…" Rin was hesitant before she started singing, "In the mountains… In the forest… In the wind… In a dream… Where are you, Ses-sho-ma-ru? … With an ally like Mas-ter Jak-en… I will wait alone until you come… Ses-sho-ma-ru, please re-turn…"

When she finished, Sesshomaru sighed.

"What do you think?" she asked in a small voice.

Sesshomaru tilted his head back again. "Lovely," he told her.

Suddenly, a huge gust of wind filled the courtyard. It unbraided Sesshomaru's hair and scattered the flowers. In the midst of the wind, a human-like figure touched down on the grass.

Sesshomaru quickly got to his feet; Rin watched the figure from behind him.

"Lord Sesshomaru… long time, no see…" cooed Kagura the Wind Sorceress.

Rin cam forward to stand next to Sesshomaru. "Hello, Lady Kagura," she greeted with a bow.

Kagura's eyes flickered down to rin, "Hello, Rin."

"What do you want, Kagura?" Sesshomaru snapped.

Kagura looked back up to Sesshomaru. "Well, aren't we impatient…" she commented.

Lord Sesshomaru growled deep in his throat. Rin took his hand in hers to silence him.

"Lady Kagura," Rin called, "We're about to have our morning meal. Would you like to join us?"

Kagura unfolded her fan and waved it around a little. "I'd love to," she said mischeviously.

-

Later on, Sesshomaru, Kagura and Rin were all sitting together in the dining hall for lunch. It was uncomfortable for Sesshomaru; Kagura knew this, and enjoyed every minute of it. Rin, of course, was completely oblivious to the unseen tension, and chatted away happily.

"So now I' a Princess, apparently," she said before taking another bite of food.

Kagura swallowed a mouthful. "So it's true," she stated, "Sesshomaru, Lord of the Western Lands, has taken a human as his successor."

"Word travels fast," Sesshomaru commented, staring down at his plate.

Rin looked from Kagura to Sesshomaru as she ate another bite of food.

"Indeed," Kagura replied.

Sesshomaru golden eyes flickered up to meet Kagura's fuschia one. "Kagura? Why are you here?" he asked blankly.

Kagura frowned and set down her chopsticks. "Right then," she said, tucking her hands into her sleeves, "I need to find out where Inuyasha is."

"Inuyasha?" Rin asked, "Why do you need to know where he is?"

"Well, I'm really looking for the Demon Slayer," Kagura explained, "The one called Sango."

Rin's eyes widened, _ Kohaku's older Sister. _

"Why ask me?" How do you expect me to know where Inuyasa is?" Sesshomaru asked coldly.

Kagura shrugged, "It wasn't my ides. Kohaku thought yo—"

"Kohaku?!" Rin jumped to her feet, "He's alive? Where is he? Can I see him?"

Sesshomaru raised an eyebrow at Rin.

Kagura chuckled, "My, you certainly have a thing for him, don't you?"

Red hot blush crept over Rin's face as she slowly sat down again.

"It's all right," Kagura told her, smiling, "You're all he talked about on our journey here."

Rin's face flooded with a darker shade of blush, "R-Really?"

Kagura sighed. "It was quite irritating, really," she said with an exhausted edge to her voice, "He was always saying, 'I can't believe she's a Princess', and 'She deserves it, I'm happy for her'."

Rin's eyes dropped to the floor.

"The boy was really getting on my nerves…" Kagura muttered.

Sesshomaru skeptically narrowed his eyes at Kagura, "Kagura… How did Kohaku survive?"

Kagura frowned. "When Naraku first resurrected Kohaku, Kanna was told to trap the boy's soul in her mirror," she explained, "and the Shikon jewel fragement took the place of his soul."

She paused, looking down at her empty plate before she could continue, "It would seem that Kanna took a liking to Kohaku… When the boy ripped his shard from his body, Kanna begged me to bring her his body so she could bond his soul back to his body."

Rin stared at Kagura with wide eyes as her story continued.

"We fixed him up. Had his body looking good as new. But the only way to pull Kohaku's soul from the depths of the mirror was for Kanna to shatter the mirror and end her life," Kagura told them.

"So now, Kohaku is looking for his sister…" Rin whispered.

"Who is living with Inuyasha," Sesshomaru added.

"Precisely," Kagura replied to the both of them.

Rin stood up and turned to Kagura. "I want to see him," she said, staring down at Kagura, "Can you please take me to him?"

Kagura nodded, "Of course. He's right outside the castle wall."

Sesshomaru stood. "I'm coming too," he informed Kagura.

"Well then," Kagura said, rising to her feet and pulling out her fan, "Let's get going."

----------

Kagome yawned and rolled over, her body sank deeper into soft, warm fur.

She sat up suddenly. It was dark all around her and she had to rub her eyes a few times before her eyes adjusted.

_ Where am I? _ she wondered.

When she was finally able to see, Kagome surveyed her surroundings.

She was on a large bed of fur, in a cave that seemed oddly familiar to her. A waterfall covered the mouth of the cave, and all around her were giant, unidentifiable lumps of fur, that looked sort of like…

Kagome gasped, her thoughts finally clicking together, _ Wolves! _

No wonder the cave looked so fammilar! This was Koga's cave, where he and his wolf tribe were now living.

_ This doesn't make any sense though… _ she thought, _ I got bit, the medicine must have made me woozy, but I know Inuyasha took me home. _

"Oh, you're awake…" a voice next to her said.

Kagome looked over at the voice. Sitting up against the wall was Koga with his arms folded and his blue eyes locked with Kagome's.

"Koga?" she asked, just to be sure.

Koga smiled at her. "Surprised?" he asked.

Kagome nodded, "Very. What's go—"

"Shh…" Koga cut her off. Then stood up and offered her his hand. "Come on," he whispered, "Let's go for a walk."

Kagome took his hand and allowed Koga to lead her through the cave of sleeping wolves and wolf-demons. Once outside, he took her down the cliffside path and into the forest.

The sun was just coming up, so all was still. Night creatures settled down for sleep, while the day creatures hadn't woken up yet.

"What's going on, Koga?" Kagome asked, "Why did I wake up in your cave? Where's Inuy—"

"Relax, Kagome," Koga said, stretching his arms as they walked, "Inuyasha gave you to me for a couple days."

"He _ what?!" _ she shrieked, stopping in her tracks, "Tell me you're joking."

Koga looked back at her where she had stopped. "Um, no. You're mine for three days," he explained, "There are _ rules, _ but…"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa… whoa… Back up," Kagome shook her head in disbelief, _ "Inuyasha, _ just _ gave me up?! _ Just like that?!"

"Not really," Koga said, "I told you, he made up a bunch of rules—"

Kagome stamped her foot impatiently, "Which _ are?!" _

Sighing, Koga explained, "Number One: I can't sleep in the same bed as you. Number Two: I am not allowed to touch you without your permission. Number Three: The food that's packed in your bag is for you and is not to be eaten by anyone but you, even if you offer. Number Four: I have to be waiting for you in front of the cave in three days time. And Number Five: If you go back to him with even the smallest bruise or scratch or anything, he's allowed to push me off the edge of the cliff."

Kagome blinked.

"He sure is throughout when he wants to be, huh?" Koga asked.

"Apparently so," Kagome replied.

The two began walking through the forest again. Everything was silent around them until Koga spoke.

"I've been meaning to ask you, Kagome…" Koga began, "Why are you still with Inuyasha?"

Kagome looked at him with a confused expression, so Koga changed the question a little. "What's so great about Inuyasha? Why haven't you come to be with me, now that Naraku's dead?"

"Now that Naraku is gone, the Shikon Jewel is whole," Kagome explained, "I protect the Shikon Jewel with Inuyasha, just as had once protected it with Kikyo."

Koga sighed, "Do you ever think, that's all you are to him? You're just Kikyo, to him. Or rather, Kikyo's replacement?"

"All the time," Kagome whispered, "I always wonder if it's me he's kissing, or Kikyo… If it's me he loves, or Kikyo. I try not to think like that anymore, but the thought of being Kikyo's shadow is always there."

Koga whirled around and stopped in front of her. Taking her hands in his, he pleaded, "Why not me then? Come, stay with me. You wouldn't have to live in anyone's shadow anymore."

Kagome shook her head, "Yes, I would, Koga. I would still be in a shadow because you made a promise to someone long before you met me."

"But, Kagome—"

Kagome smiled at Koga. "Who did you promise, Koga?" she asked.

Koga dropped Kagome's hands. "Ayame," he mumbled to the ground.

A long howl interrupted them from the distance. Both Koga and Kagome looked up at the cliff where the howl had come from.

Koga smirked, "Impatient bastards."

Kagome glanced at Koga, then back at the cliff, then Koga once more. "Is something wrong?" she asked him.

"Hmm? No," Koga answered, "The early morning hunting pack is waiting for me to come lead though."

"We should get back then," Kagome said.

Koga scooped Kagome up in his arms. But, paused for a moment to ask, "Do you mind?"

Kagome smiled, "You have my permission."

"We are not done discussing this though," he informed her, starting to run.

Kagome pouted, "You're just as stubborn as Inuyasha…"

Koga laughed. "That's a little insulting, Kagome," he told her, "But you like stubborn, so it's okay."

Kagome blushed.

Koga took off through the forest and up the Cliffside path. Kagome noticed that Koga was a little slower than Inuyasha, (most likely due to his lack of sacred jewel shards), but the distance it took them an hour to walk, he ran in under 5 minutes.

When they got to the waterfall that cover the mouth of the cave, Hakaku, Ginta, and a bunch of wolves were waiting. Koga set Kagome down to stand next to him.

"Hey Kagome!" Hakaku waved as he ran up to her.

"Glad to see you're back with the living," Ginta teased.

"Yeah," Hakaku agreed, "We thought you were never going to wake up."

"Huh?" Kagome looked up at Koga, "How long was I asleep for?"

Koga frowned, "Well, you know how I said you were only staying for three days?"

Kagome nodded.

"You…kind of…well…slept through the first day," he explained.

"Oh, wow," Kagome said in disbelief, "I must have been overdosed on that herbal painkiller."

"Well, you're awake now," Ginta pointed out, "That's what matters."

"All right you two, time to get going," Koga told them, "Kagome? I don't suppose you want to come with…"

Thinking about it, Kagome decided the idea of watching Koga rip things to death didn't really appeal to her. "Um," no thanks," she said, "I think I'll stay here and have my own breakfast."

"All right, then," he saluted her with two fingers, "See ya." With that, Koga, the wolves and the wolf-demon men left down the cliffside.

When the morning hunting pack was out of sight, Kagome turned to go into the cave. Instead, she came face to face with a wolf-demon man.

"Um… Hello…" Kagome greeted the guy politely.

The wolf-demon man smiled at her. He had strong features, but a kind face, and seem like a nice person to Kagome. "Hello to you," he greeted her back, "Miss Kagome, allow me to introduce myself; I am Kanaye. Koga has instructed me to protect you today, while he is away."

Kagome smiled. _ That Koga, he certainly worries about me. _ "All right, well, I'm just going inside to have some breakfast," she told him.

Kanaye stepped to the side so Kagome could go back into the cave, then followed her in.

The cave was beginning to wake up to the new day. Mothers woke their children with kisses and playful nips, while fathers watched on happily. Two teenage sisters brushed each others hair with combs made from animal bone, and teenage boys rough-housed to pass the time.

Kagome watched it all as she made her way to the back of the cave where she had awoken this morning. She smiled at the loving community. There seemed to be more of a feeling of family since the last time she was here, and she wondered why that was, as she let her mind drift off a bit.

_ They have comb, and wash themselves in the waterfall… _ Kagome observed, _ They sure aren't as filthy as Inuyasha thinks… _

She frowned, _ Inuyasha, you're a dead man tomorrow. A Dead. Man. _

----------

"I wonder what Kagome is thinking right now," Inuyasha said out loud to no one.

And no one replied.


End file.
